Novak Djokovic claims most professional tennis players believe Jannik Sinner was shown “favouritism” with his three-month doping ban.

It follows news at the weekend of the Italian world No.1’s settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency over two positive drug tests in March last year.

Sinner’s explanation that he was inadvertently contaminated with the banned substance clostebol by his physio was accepted by WADA, but the agency added that “the athlete bears responsibility for the entourage’s negligence”.

Less than three weeks after winning his second Australian Open title, Sinner was suspended from February 9 until May 4, meaning he will be eligible to play at the Italian Open ahead of the next grand slam, the French Open, which starts on May 19.

“There’s a majority of the players that I’ve talked to in the locker room, not just in the last few days, but also last few months, that are not happy with the way this whole process has been handled,” 24-time grand slam champion Djokovic said at the Qatar Open on Tuesday (AEDT).

“A majority of the players don’t feel it’s fair. A majority of the players feel like there is favouritism happening.

“It appears that you can almost affect the outcome if you are a top player, if you have access to the top lawyers.”

Sinner’s was the first of two high-profile cases in tennis in quick succession.

Women’s world No.2 Iga Swiatek was handed a one-month suspension in November after a positive test for the angina medication trimetazidine. The International Tennis Integrity Agency accepted it was caused by contamination of a medicine Swiatek was taking to help combat jet lag.

By contrast, former world No.1 Simona Halep was given a four-year ban by the ITIA in 2022 after a positive test, although it was later reduced to nine months.

Meanwhile, Britain’s Tara Moore, a far less well-known player, was suspended in May 2022 while an investigation lasted 18 months before an independent tribunal determined that contaminated meat was the source of the prohibited substances she tested positive for.

“Simona Halep and Tara Moore and some other players that are maybe less known that have been struggling to resolve their cases for years, or have got the ban for years,” Djokovic said.

“There is so much inconsistencies between the cases. Sinner has got a suspension for three months because of mistakes and negligence of his team members, who are working on the tour. This is also something that I personally and many other players find strange.

“Now it’s a ripe time for us to really address the system, because the system and the structure obviously doesn’t work, anti-doping, it’s obvious.

“I hope that in the near future the governing bodies are going to come together and try to find a more effective way to deal with these processes. It’s inconsistent, and it appears to be very unfair.”

-AAP