Jannik Sinner's doping ban will always hang over him: Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic has warned Jannik Sinner that his three-month doping ban will hang over him like a “cloud” - and questioned both the timing and length of the sanction on the world No.1 last year.

The former No.1 compared it to his experiences when he refused to be vaccinated against Covid-19. That led to him spending time in an immigration detention centre in Melbourne in January 2022 after trying to gain entry into Australia for the Australian Open, and being barred from playing in the US Open later that year.

Sinner served a three-month ban in February 2025 after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accepted his explanation that a banned anabolic steroid, clostebol, entered his system accidentally.

“That cloud will follow him just as the cloud of Covid will follow me, for the rest of his, or my career in this case,” said Djokovic.

“It’s just something that, it was so major, and when that happens, 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 said he believed that Sinner, a regular practice partner, “didn’t do it on purpose”, but he went on to question how the Italian managed to serve his time without missing a grand slam.

“There is the lack of transparency, the inconsistency, the convenience [of] the ban coming, between the slams, so he doesn’t miss out the others - it’s just, it was very, very odd,” added Djokovic.

“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 out in the media, and complaining that it was a preferable treatment.”

Sinner, who initially tested positive in March 2024, served his ban from February 9, 2025, two weeks after winning the Australian Open, to May 4, 2025, three weeks before the French Open, in which he reached the final.

Djokovic, who was being interviewed on Piers Morgan: Uncensored on Youtube, said of his circumstances, “I was never a proponent of anti-vax or pro vax. I was always freedom of choice. And that was misinterpreted.

“I was proclaimed to be one side or the other side and so forth. It’s either black or white. And I said, ‘It doesn’t need to be that way’.

“As an athlete, as someone that takes care of the integrity of the body and understanding of obviously doing my research and understanding that I’m not a threat to anybody and I don’t need to do it myself. And I’ve been through two times, two or three times, I had Covid in a year and a half, so I had all the antibodies.”