Djokovic: “The Sinner case? Frustrating not knowing anything for five months.” And he defends Kyrgios

On the eve of his return to the field, Novak Djokovic spoke about the latest doping cases involving Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek criticizing what he considers double standards in the world of tennis. The former world number 1, who will once again be chasing the 25th Slam of his career at the Australian Open next month, expressed his frustration at having been “kept in the dark” about the case involving Sinner, the current number one of the ranking.

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by Paolo Condò

December 28, 2024

Djokovic: “Why hide the Sinner case?”

“I don’t question whether the prohibited substance was taken intentionally or not – said the 37-year-old Serbian, number 1 seed at the 250 tournament in Brisbane -. I believe in clean sport, I believe that the player will do everything possible to play in correct way. I’ve known Jannik since he was very young, he doesn’t seem like the type of person who would do something like that. But I felt really frustrated, as did most of the other players, to see that we were kept in the dark for five months since receiving the news. It’s not a good image for our sport. The ATP hasn’t talked about it in depth. Why haven’t they made this case public? , now that of Iga Swiatek”.

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Djokovic defends Kyrgios

Still on the subject of doping, Djokovic defended the Australian Nick Kyrgioswith whom he will play doubles in Brisbane: “We live in a world where everyone has the right to express themselves, especially on social media. Nick expressed himself very well regarding the Sinner affair, he is right about the transparency and inconsistency of the protocols and the comparisons between the various cases. Many players in the past, but also currently, have been suspended for not even submitting to doping tests and for not reporting their availability, and some lower-ranked players have been waiting for their cases to be resolved for more than a year. I’m just questioning the way the system works and why certain players aren’t treated the same as others. Maybe there are ranking reasons behind it, or some players have more financial support and stronger legal teams to deal with these cases.”