Novak Djokovic has cautioned Jannik Sinner that his three-month ban for doping will persist over his career like a "cloud" – and raised doubts about the timing of the sanction in the previous season.
The Italian player served a three-month suspension in February 2025 after the global anti-doping body accepted his explanation that a prohibited performance-enhancing substance, the steroid clostebol, had entered his system accidentally.
"That cloud will follow him just as the cloud of Covid will follow me, for the remainder of our respective careers," Djokovic stated in a discussion on Piers Morgan: Uncensored.
"It is a situation where, it was so major, and after such events, over time it will fade, but I believe it won't fully vanish. There's always going to be a specific segment of individuals that will always try to bring that forward."
Djokovic expressed belief that Sinner, a regular practice partner, "had no intentional involvement", but he proceeded to question how the player arranged to serve his time without sitting out any major tournaments.
"There is the lack of transparency, the inconsistency, 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 really don't like how the case was being handled and you could hear so many other players, across both tours, who had some similar situations voicing their concerns publicly and asserting it represented favorable handling."
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