Jul 11, 2025; Wimbledon, United Kingdom; Jannik Sinner of Italy at the net with Novak Djokovic of Serbia after their match on day 12 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

tennis

‘So Many Red Flags.. He is Responsible’ – Novak Djokovic’s Brutally Strong Assertion on Jannik Sinner Doping Saga

Serbian icon evaluates the poor handling of the controversy.

Jul 11, 2025; Wimbledon, United Kingdom; Jannik Sinner of Italy at the net with Novak Djokovic of Serbia after their match on day 12 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic has revealed that Jannik Sinner’s doping controversy will follow him like a ‘cloud’ for the rest of his tennis career. The 38-year-old compared the Italian’s case with his own COVID-19 saga, and believes that he cannot escape the criticism surrounding the allegations. Moreover, Djokovic also questioned the preferential treatment in an interview with Piers Morgan.

In March 2024, Sinner twice tested positive for clostebol – a prohibited substance – causing him to eventually be suspended from the tour. However, the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) accepted the now World No. 2’s explanation that the entire mode of transmission was completely unintentional. Having agreed that Sinner ‘did not intend to cheat’, WADA reached a settlement in February 2025 for a three month suspension.

In the aftermath of the decision regarding Sinner’s doping case, several players voiced their opinion against the call. After all, the now 24-year-old had just won the Australian Open, and would return to action just in time for his home tournament at the Rome Masters and then Roland Garros. Complaints regarding preferential treatment and lack of transparency emerged from within the tennis fraternity.

Novak Djokovic Provides Honest Take on Jannik Sinner Doping Saga

In a sit-down interview with Piers Morgan, the Serbian icon and current World No. 5 decoded the underlying issues with Sinner’s doping controversy. “That cloud will follow him as the cloud of Covid will follow me for the rest of his career,” Djokovic asserted. “It’s just something that was so major. Over time, it will fade – but I don’t think it will disappear. There’s always going to be a certain group of people that will always bring that forward.”

“The lack of transparency, the inconsistency, the ban coming between the slams was very odd and I didn’t like how it was handled.”

Full words from Djokovic on Sinner’s doping case. Compares it with his Covid controversy:

pic.twitter.com/jsTpPhrnnH
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) November 11, 2025

Both the WADA as well as the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) have defended the fact that no preferential treatment was offered to the four-time Grand Slam champion. However, Djokovic begged to differ. “The way the case was handled – so many red flags. There is a lack of transparency, inconsistency, the convenience of the ban coming between the Grand Slams so that he doesn’t miss out. It’s just very, very odd.

“So I don’t like how the case was being handled. You could hear so many other players – male and female – who had similar situations coming out in the media. [They were] complaining that it was preferential treatment… I think essentially, I want to believe him and think he didn’t do it on purpose. But of course, he is responsible because those are the rules.”

Novak Djokovic has warned Jannik Sinner that his three-month doping ban will hang over him like a "cloud" ☁️ pic.twitter.com/05szTFRGoB
— Sky Sports Tennis (@SkySportsTennis) November 12, 2025

On the other hand, Djokovic also went on to laud the manner in which Sinner handled the entire situation and went about his business upon returning to tour-level action.

(Image Credits: Susan Mullane, Imagn Images)

ATP

Italian Open 2025

Jannik Sinner

Novak Djokovic

Piers Morgan

Roland Garros

Tennis

Wimbledon

Sankalp Harikrishnan

A passionate sports fan through and through, I am currently pursuing my MA in Global Sports Journalism. I specialise in tennis and football writing at The Playoffs News, and I have prior experience working at EssentiallySports and Sportskeeda. Born and raised in Bengaluru, India, sport was my safe space right from my childhood. After trying my hand at multiple sports and representing my educational institutions in cricket, badminton and table tennis, I found sports media to be my calling.