The tennis star has warned Jannik Sinner that his three-month ban for doping will linger over his career like a "cloud" – and raised doubts about the scheduling of the sanction last year.
The Italian player served a three-month suspension in early 2025 after the global anti-doping body approved his account that a banned anabolic steroid, the steroid clostebol, had been ingested unintentionally.
"That cloud will follow him just as the cloud of Covid will follow me, for the rest of his, or my career," the champion remarked in an interview on a popular YouTube program.
"It's just something that, it was so major, and when that happens, with time it may lessen, but I believe it won't fully vanish. There will inevitably exist a certain group of people that will continually reference the incident."
Djokovic expressed belief that Sinner, a regular practice partner, "didn't do it on purpose", but he then scrutinized how the Italian managed to complete his ban without sitting out any major tournaments.
"The absence of openness, the irregularity, the convenient timing of the suspension occurring between major events, so he avoids skipping important competitions – it's just it was very, very odd," Djokovic added.
"I am dissatisfied with how the case was being handled and you could hear so many other players, both male and female, who had some similar situations voicing their concerns publicly and asserting it represented favorable handling."
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