Novak Djokovic called for “clear protocols” and “standardized approaches” to doping cases in tennis in response to the announcement that Jannik Sinner had avoided a ban despite testing positive twice this year. Carlos Alcaraz, another US Open title contender, said it was “complicated” but stressed the need to play “clean sport.”

Speaking to reporters as he prepared to defend his US Open title, Djokovic said players who have complained about a lack of transparency in the Sinner case had a valid objection.

“I understand that players are frustrated by the lack of consistency,” said the 24-time Grand Slam champion.

“From what I understand, his case was basically resolved the moment it was announced. But you know, I think it’s been five or six months since the news (of the positive tests) was broken to him and his team.

“Yes, there are many problems in the system,” said Djokovic. “There is a lack of standardized and clear protocols. I can understand the feelings of many players who wonder if they are being treated equally.”

Different rules for different players

— Denis Shapovalov (@denis_shapo) 20 August 2024

Several players have suggested that Sinner received special treatment because of his ranking and questioned why he was not provisionally suspended while the investigation to exonerate him was completed.

However, Sinner insisted that he was treated like any other player.

“There is no shortcut, there is no different treatment, it is all the same process,” Sinner said.

The 23-year-old Italian was informed in March that he had been found to have taken a low dose of the banned anabolic steroid clostebol during the Indian Wells Masters.

A test outside of the competition eight days later was also positive.

Sinner said he was indeed provisionally suspended for several days, although this was not publicly announced at the time.

However, he and his team immediately appealed, arguing that the drug entered his body when his physiotherapist treated a cut with a spray and then prescribed massages and sports therapy for the player.

He was allowed to continue playing while investigators looked into the case and the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced on Tuesday that he had been cleared of any wrongdoing.

He said he had fired physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi and coach Umberto Ferrara – who had supplied Naldi with the spray – because trust in them had been lost.

“Things we don’t know”

World number three Alcaraz indicated that he believes there is more to the case than has been made public, but declined to criticise the ITIA’s decision.

“A really difficult moment for him. I’m not going to lie, it’s complicated. Well, I believe in a clean sport. You know, I’m pretty sure there are a lot of things we don’t know, you know, within the team or within everything,” Alcaraz said. “But if they let Jannik continue playing, it’s for some reason. They say he’s innocent, so that’s all I know and all I can talk about.”

Djokovic said the case was a prime example of why the sport needs the controversial Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), which he helped found to give players a stronger voice in the sport.

He wondered whether some of these cases, like Sinner’s, could go unnoticed because the player had the financial means to afford expensive and efficient legal representation, while other players did not.

“I don’t know,” Djokovic said. “Is this a case or not? I really feel like we need to look into this together, to examine the system and understand why such cases don’t happen. By that, I don’t mean the case itself, but how we can standardize everything so that every player, regardless of their rank, status or profile, gets the same treatment.”