Novak Djokovic has voiced concerns that a majority of players believe favoritism exists within the tennis anti-doping system, calling for a complete overhaul following the doping cases of Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek.
Sinner accepted a three-month ban on Saturday after testing positive for the anabolic agent clostebol last year, while Swiatek served a one-month ban at the end of 2024 after the banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ) was detected in her test.
Though Djokovic did not imply any intentional wrongdoing by either Grand Slam champion, he highlighted inconsistencies in how they were treated by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).
"The two cases of Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner have attracted a lot of attention, and it's not a good image for our sport," the 24-time Grand Slam champion said at the Qatar Open on Monday.
"A majority of the players don't feel that (the process is) 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," Djokovic added.
Other current and former players, such as Nick Kyrgios, Stan Wawrinka, and Tim Henman, have raised questions about Sinner's case, with the latter suggesting that the expiration of his ban just before the Rome Masters and French Open was "too convenient."
Djokovic, who co-founded the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) as a voice for athletes in the game, said there is widespread mistrust of the entire doping process among his fellow players.
"I think right now it's the ripe time for us to address the system because the system and the structure obviously don't work on anti-doping. It's obvious," the 37-year-old Serbian said.
"I hope in the near future the governing bodies are going to come together, of our tours and the tennis ecosystem, and try to find a more effective way to deal with these processes.
"It's inconsistent, and it appears to be very unfair."
Sinner's agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which had appealed when the Italian was cleared without punishment last year, recognized his explanation that tainted products used by his masseur had been behind the positive test.
"Sinner got suspended for three months because of the mistakes and negligence of his team members that are working on the (ATP) Tour, so that's also something that I personally, and a lot of players, find a bit strange," Djokovic said.
Djokovic pointed out that it appeared very different processes were followed by the ITIA in doping cases involving Romanian Simona Halep and Briton Tara Moore.
"There are so many inconsistencies between the cases," he said.
"We have seen on social media Simona Halep and Tara Moore and some other players, who may be less known, that have been struggling to resolve their cases for years or have gotten the ban for years.
"We have to bear in mind that Sinner and Swiatek were number ones in the world when those announcements happened," he added.
