Novak Djokovic, one of the sport's most respected voices, had a lot to say about Jannik Sinner's doping saga, including an endorsement for his PTPA.
Djokovic hasn't always agreed with the ATP, and the relationship has become even more tense since he ultimately founded a rival organization called the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA).
While Djokovic openly states that he's not in favor of replacing the ATP as a governing body, he has been very open about wanting an organization that focuses on the players alone.
While the ATP should theoretically be that and have the players' best interests in mind, it doesn't take much to demonstrate that it doesn't operate like that anymore.
So when Djokovic was asked about Sinner's case, as one of the co-founders of the PTPA, ahead of the 2024 US Open, he mentioned the importance of the association.
"Well, instances like this are the very reason we founded PTPA. The ethos of PTPA is the player, is representing 100% the players' rights and making sure that you can cover every possible corner there is to cover so that the player is able to not only endure on the tour but to live out of the sport."
"We talked about the depth of the rankings and the players that are able to live out of this sport, and I think that needs to be improved."
Regarding the Italian's case specifically, Djokovic could understand all sides of the matter. On the one hand, he understands why many players were shocked by how the situation was handled.
While apparently all rules and protocols were followed, keeping it secret the way it was made players wonder whether Sinner had any kind of preferential treatment.
"As far as Jannik's case, you know we founded PTPA that is always advocating for fair protocols, clear protocols for standardized approaches to these kind of cases. I understand the frustration of the players is there because of lack of consistency."
"As I understood, his case was cleared the moment basically it was announced. But, you know, I think five or six months passed since the news was brought to him and his team."
"So, yeah, there is a lot of issues in the system. We see lack of standardized and clear protocols. I can understand the sentiments of a lot of players that are questioning whether they are treated the same."
As somebody who has spent much of his career learning from his mistakes and wanting to do better, the Serbian ultimately hopes that the governing bodies will learn from this situation. He stated that there needs to be some sort of change, hinting at some previous cases.
"Hopefully the governing bodies of our sport will be able to learn from this case and have a better approach for the future. I think collectively there has to be a change, and I think that's obvious."
Simona Halep is a notable example of a player who also tested positive for a banned substance but was immediately suspended and not permitted to play while an investigation was ongoing. Sinner was allowed to compete because his explanation was deemed good enough.
But then, if his explanation was good enough, many questioned why wasn't Halep's? For many, it was just a situation that was not transparent to many.
"That's something really I feel like we have to collectively investigate more, to look into the system and understand how these cases don't happen, meaning not the case itself, but how we can standardize everything so that every player, regardless of his ranking or status or profile, is able to get the same kind of treatment."
"So, yeah, I would say that's probably the overall, I guess, my opinion and observation of this entire case of what we have been reading and observing and talking about the last few days."
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