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Novak Djokovic has cautioned Jannik Sinner that his three-month doping suspension will linger over his career as a constant shadow – and raised doubts about the scheduling of the sanction last year.

The Ban Explained

Sinner completed a three-month prohibition in February 2025 after the World Anti-Doping Agency approved his account that a prohibited performance-enhancing substance, the steroid clostebol, had entered his system accidentally.

"This shadow will trail him just as the cloud of Covid will follow me, for the rest of his, or my career," Djokovic stated in an interview on a popular YouTube program.

"It is a situation where, it was so major, and after such events, over time it will fade, but I don't think it will disappear. There's always going to be a certain group of people that will continually reference the incident."

Djokovic's Perspective

The Serbian player stated that Sinner, a regular practice partner, "had no intentional involvement", but he then scrutinized how the player arranged to serve his time without sitting out any major tournaments.

"The absence of openness, the inconsistency, the convenience [of] the ban occurring between major events, so he avoids skipping important competitions – it simply appeared highly unusual," Djokovic added.

Wider Player Reactions

"I really don't like how the situation was managed and you could hear so many other players, both male and female, who had comparable circumstances voicing their concerns publicly and complaining that it was a preferable treatment."