New Delhi: Tennis ace Novak Djokovic has called for changes in tennis’ anti-doping rules in the wake of the recent case of Jannik Sinner and has said that he understands why players have questions about doping cases being treated equally. It was announced a few days back that World no. 1 Jannik Sinner failed two steroid tests in March before an independent tribunal ruled it was not intentional.
The tribunal said that the Italian was not at fault or negligence for the presence of the banned substance clostebol, which Sinner successfully argued he was contaminated by his physio during massages. Speaking to the media ahead of the US Open in New York, Djokovic said, “I understand the frustration of the players is there, because of a lack of consistency. As I understood, his (Sinner’s) case was cleared the moment basically it was announced.”
“There is a lot of issues in the system. We see a lack of standardised and clear protocols. Hopefully the governing bodies of our sport will be able to learn from this case and have a better approach for the future. Collectively there has to be a change, and I think that’s obvious,” The Guardian quoted Djokovic as saying.
Decision related to funds?
Several tennis players, including the likes of Denis Shapovalov, Lucas Pouille, and Britain’s Tara Moore have come forward in the light of the case, arguing that players are subject to different rules if compared with the lower-ranked players. While for some players it takes several months to get the case cleared by the respected bodies, Sinner’s ruling arrived instantly.
Many players… without naming any of them (as) I’m sure you know already who have had similar or pretty much the same cases, where they haven’t had the same outcome,” Djokovic said. The Serb asked whether it is a case of the funds that if a player can afford to pay a significant amount of money for a law firm that would then more efficiently represent his or her case.
“I don’t know. Is that the case or not? That’s something really I feel like we have to collectively investigate more,” Djokovic added.
Novak Djokovic has called for changes in the doping rules and has admitted that there is a lack of consistency in tennis after the recent case of Jannik Sinner. Tennis Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
