Within the wake of Swiatek’s punishment, Simona Halep was certainly one of a number of gamers who questioned the variations in how doping instances had been handled.
In 2023, the Romanian had acquired a four-year ban for 2 anti-doping violations, later diminished to 9 months after an attraction.
Reflecting on each instances in December, Kyrgios stated: “I feel individuals are making an attempt to comb it beneath the rug. I simply assume that it has been dealt with horrifically in our sport. Two world quantity ones each getting performed for doping is disgusting for our sport. It is a horrible look.”
Within the wake of Sinner’s suspension, Spanish legend Rafael Nadal stated he was “100%” certain that the Italian was harmless, however former British primary Tim Henman claimed the ban was “too handy” and left tennis followers with a “fairly bitter style”.
“Whenever you’re coping with medicine in sport it very a lot needs to be black and white, it is binary, it is constructive or destructive, you are banned otherwise you’re not banned” he instructed Sky Sports activities.
“Whenever you begin studying phrases like settlement or settlement, it looks like there’s been a negotiation and I do not assume that may sit effectively with the participant cohort and the followers of the game.”
Serena Williams stated she would have been banned for 20 years and had a few of her Grand Slam titles taken away if she had dedicated the identical anti-doping offence as males’s world primary Sinner.
British participant Tara Moore, who was provisionally banned for 2 years whereas difficult a doping cost of which she was finally cleared after 19 months, additionally advised prime gamers had been “handled in another way”, with their picture prioritised.
Accusations of preferential therapy and double requirements had been firmly disputed by the ITIA and Wada.
The ITIA has additionally highlighted a 26% improve in anti-doping exams in 2024 in comparison with the earlier yr, and says educating gamers about anti-doping guidelines is a precedence.
However many imagine each gamers have benefitted from having the ability to pay prime attorneys to behave shortly.
“A majority of the gamers do not feel that it is truthful,” stated 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic. “It seems you can virtually have an effect on the end result in case you are a prime participant, in case you have entry to the highest attorneys.”
The Skilled Tennis Gamers’ Affiliation (PTPA) – an organisation co-founded by Djokovic which goals to extend participant energy – stated there’s a lack of “transparency”, “course of” and “consistency” within the system.
Three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, writing on social media, stated he didn’t “imagine in a clear sport any extra”.
