sabalenka.png
Getty Images

Months after Novak Djokovic cried favoritism over the way professional tennis handled penalties for positive doping cases from World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek this year, Aryna Sabalenka shared her opinion on the situation and what players have to deal with involving drug tests.

Sabalenka, the current No. 1-ranked women's player, will take on 2022 Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios in a "Battle of the Sexes" match in Dubai on Dec. 28. The pair appeared on Piers Morgan this week to preview the contest later this month before the conversation shifted to Sinner.

Sinner received a three-month suspension earlier this year after he was found to have trace amounts of Clostebol in his sample last year and did not miss any Grand Slam tournaments. Sinner tested positive on March 10, 2024, during the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, and tested positive a second time eight days later.

Sinner and his team argued the sample was from a massage from a trainer who used a substance to treat a cut on his finger. The International Tennis Integrity Agency accepted this explanation and chose not to move forward with any charges against Sinner. However, the World Anti-Doping Agency challenged that decision and was pushing for at least a one-year ban for the Italian.

"We're not sure what actually going on there," Sabalenka said. "I believe in clean sport and I also believe that everyone have to be treated the same. But at the same time, I don't believe that there was something in there, to be honest. Me, I'm really trying to be careful with everything and overprotecting myself after a couple of cases, because you can eat something in [a] restaurant and then you test positive."

Earlier this year, Djokovic said Sinner's doping allegations were a "cloud will follow him like that Covid cloud will follow me." He said he disagreed with the provisional three-month ban and said it had a lot to do with his ranking at No. 1. To Djokovic's point, Sabalenka said she wants "everyone have to be treated the same" and brought up a similar case with Swiatek's doping situation.

Kyrgios continues to be bullish on his opinion of Sinner.

"The key thing Novak said was whether it was there or wasn't there, he's still responsible," Kyrgios said. "The way the case was handled as a whole ... was very ... It wasn't a good look for the sport. He was our No. 1 tennis player in the world. The media in our sport at the time wasn't good. I was responsible for that. We should've have that back and forth with players online. The people competing against him, why are we being withheld that information? We should know exactly what's going on. Why is the trial behind closed doors?

"At the same time, the way Jannik bounced back from it is amazing. As much as me and Jannik Sinner have differences, the way he took the ban and came back and nearly won Rome. He took his time off and he became better. There's no doubt he's going to be one of the greatest players of all-time."

Sinner reached the finals of the French Open in the epic five-setter again Carlos Alcaraz and later won Wimbledon this year following his temporary ban. He has four career majors to his credit, all coming since the beginning of the 2024 season.