Novak Djokovic has revealed what he really thinks about Jannik Sinner following his controversial doping ban.
Back in February, men's world number one Sinner was handed a three-month ban from tennis having twice tested positive for the banned substance clostebol in March 2024.
Sinner argued that he had been contaminated by a healing spray which a member of his physiotherapy team had provided him with to treat a cut on his hand, while also using it on his back and feet.
An independent hearing found that Sinner bore 'no fault or negligence' surrounding the positive tests, but Sinner agreed to serve the three-month ban after discussions with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
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Since then, most players have remained relatively quiet, but former world number one and 24-time major winner Djokovic has now spoken out about his rival player and the ban in a tell-all interview with Piers Morgan.
During the interview, posted on the Piers Morgan Uncensored YouTube channel, the British journalist asked Djokovic about Sinner's ban and if it would hang over him for the remainder of his career.
Referencing a controversy in his career, Djokovic replied: "That cloud will follow him as the cloud of Covid will follow me for the rest of his, or my career in this case.
"It's just something that, it was so major, and that when it happens, it's just, you know, 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 try to bring that forward.”
Djokovic's comments were referencing the 2022 Australian Open, when he was deported from Australia after he refused to get a COVID-19 vaccination.
When asked if he believed Sinner was innocent, Djokovic added: “Look, I've known Jannik since he was probably 13-14 years of age... And I was practising with Sinner a lot of the times, when he was a junior.
"And you know, I liked him, actually a lot… And he always came across very genuine, very nice, very quiet.
"He had his own world, and he didn't really, you know, care too much about the lights of the society, so to say. He just wanted to be the best player he can be. And I like that. I liked his mentality.
"So when this happened I was shocked, honestly. So, I do think that he didn't do it on purpose. But the way the whole case was handled is so many red flags.”
Sinner served his ban from 9 February 2025 to 4 May 2025, meaning that he was able to play in the Australian Open in January, which he won, and return for the French Open in May, where he lost to fierce rival Carlos Alcaraz.
Djokovic added: “There is the lack of transparency, the inconsistency, the convenience of, you know, the ban coming, between the [grand] slams, so he doesn't miss out the others. It's just, it was very, very odd…
“And so I really don't like how the case was being handled and you could hear so many other players, both male and female, who had some similar situations coming in, you know, coming out in the media, and complaining that it was a preferable treatment.”
He continued: “So I think essentially, I want to believe and I knowing and my history with him, I think he didn't do it on purpose. But of course, he is responsible, because those are the rules.
"You are responsible when something like this happens. And so when you see someone for something very similar or [the] same being banned for years, and then he's banned for original, whatever three months, or whatever it was, it's just, it's not right.”
Topics: Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Tennis, Australian Open
Ben McCrum