Rival's swipe at Sinner ban as Djokovic weighs in after launch of new legal move

Yahoo

17-02-2025

British tennis star Liam Broady has likened Jannik Sinner's three-month doping ban to a football player being suspended in the off-season, and called for fellow players to be afforded the same level of legal representation as the World No.1. It comes amid a major legal change around doping cases after 24-time major winner Novak Djokovic admitted the current system was "inconsistent" and "unfair". Sinner just struck a deal with the World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA) that will see him suspended for three months after twice testing positive for for traces of banned substance clostebol in March last year.
He was initially cleared by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) after claiming he'd been inadvertently contaminated from a spray used by his physio. WADA appealed the initial ruling and were set to take Sinner to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) later this year, where they were pushing for a two-year ban until the deal was struck with the Italian.
The messy saga has divided the tennis world, with growing calls for Sinner to be stripped of his latest Australian Open title, having played in this year's first grand slam with the doping cloud over his head. And major questions are being raised around the timing of Sinner's suspension, considering he won't miss any grand slam tournaments and will be free to return before his home event at the Rome Masters - which is a key lead-up tournament for the French Open.
British star Broady says the suspension is very convenient for the World No.1 and questioned the fairness of the ruling. "I do think a lot has been put into when the ban would take place, to impact Jannik's career as little as possible," Broady told BBC Sport. "The ban ends the day before the Rome Masters, which is the biggest tournament in his home country and the perfect preparation for him to then go and play the French Open. I don't think he loses any (rankings) points or his number one spot either, so it's an interesting ban."
Broady is ranked outside the world's top 500 and would not be able to afford the same sort of top-level legal representation as someone of Sinner's ilk. The 31-year-old pointed out how unfair that system is for many players that don't have the same amount of finances as Sinner, and called on the sport's governing bodies to provide legal teams that all professional players can access.
"This is how the system is supposed to work, but obviously he has a multi-million pound lawyer team to exploit that and to make the system work correctly, whereas the rest of us don't," Broady added. "I would like to see... the ATP provide legal teams for everybody, good legal teams, that everybody has to use... "I don't like how the finances have maybe affected the outcome of this compared to other cases."
Didn't realise you could reach a settlement regarding a doping ban… Interesting. Back in time for French Open I guess? 👀
— Liam Broady (@Liambroady) February 15, 2025
I'm sure Dan Evans would have liked a 3 month settlement banI'm sure Simona Halep would have liked a 3 month settlement banI'm sure Nicholas Jarry would have liked a 3 month settlement banI'm sure Beatrice Hadad Maia would have liked a 3 month settlement banRules are…
— _ (@cfcj_j) February 15, 2025
Broady's comments come after Novak Djokovic's Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) launched a new scheme to provide pro bono legal support to players in such cases. The PTPA says the initiative would address Broady's concerns by providing athletes with "world-class legal expertise regardless of a player's financial standing and personal resources".
RELATED:
Tennis world blasts 'trash' move after grand slam's $1.6 million change
Massive call made on Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray partnership
Djokovic concedes the current anti-doping system in professional tennis is "very unfair" and admits there is a lack of trust from players and fans towards the anti-doping organisations. "Right now it's a ripe time for us to really address the system, because the system and the structure obviously doesn't work [for] anti-doping, it's obvious," Djokovic said at the Qatar Open.
"The problem is that right now there is a lack of trust generally from the tennis players, both male and female, towards WADA and ITIA, and the whole process. I hope that in the next period of the near future that 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."