“It’s not a good image for our sport, that’s for sure,” Djokovic, the long-time No. 1 in men’s tennis, said. “There’s a majority of the players that I’ve talked to in the locker room, not just in the last few days, but also last few months, that are not happy with the way this whole process (for Sinner) has been handled.
“A majority of the players don’t feel that it’s fair. A majority of the players feel like there is favoritism happening. It appears that you can almost affect the outcome if you are a top player, if you have access to the top lawyers and whatnot.”
Sinner had been scheduled to play in Qatar before accepting the ban.
The handling of Sinner’s case had already raised questions about double standards, and when the ban was announced it was widely criticized by other players. The positive tests weren’t publicly revealed until August because Sinner successfully appealed against being provisionally banned from playing. He then won the U.S. Open in September and the Australian Open in January.
Sinner’s explanation for the positive test was that trace amounts of Clostebol in his doping sample was due to a massage from a trainer who used the substance after cutting his own finger, which WADA accepted.
