"Don't see them winning any lawsuit" - Fans react to Novak Djokovic-led PTPA CEO's "contradictory" statement over Jannik Sinner doping saga

Tennis fans recently reacted to the "contradictory" statement made by Novak Djokovic-led PTPA CEO, Ahmad Nassar, regarding the Jannik Sinner doping case. Sinner had tested positive for the banned substance clostebol twice in March 2024.

Following the positive tests, Sinner was cleared of any wrongdoing in the anti-doping rule violations after an investigation by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA). Despite this, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) pursued the case and ultimately settled for a three-month suspension for the World No.1, which will conclude on May 4, 2025

Recently, the Novak Djokovic-led PTPA filed a lawsuit against the tennis governing bodies - the ATP, WTA, ITF, and ITIA. One of the many issues raised in the lawsuit was the handling of Jannik Sinner's doping case

Speaking about Jannik Sinner's case with Ubitennis, the PTPA CEO Ahmad Nassar claimed that the World No.1 had been "treated unfairly" and he also questioned why Sinner's case, where he was found not at fault, took over a year to resolve and still resulted in a suspension.

“I’ve been consistent and clear on Jannik’s [Sinner] case. He was treated unfairly by an out-of-control, illegal, and not-fit-for-purpose anti-doping program. If someone is not at fault, as adjudicated by the ITIA and WADA, how is it possible that the case still took nearly a year to be resolved, and still resulted in a three-month suspension. The system is not working and must change,” Ahmad Nassar said.

Reacting to Nassar's remarks, tennis fans took to social media to share their opinions. One fan suggested that the Novak Djokovic-led PTPA may struggle to win the lawsuit as their statements, including those made by Nassar, "contradict" the claims in the lawsuit.

"These people sound very confused. I don't see them winning any lawsuit when every statement is contradictory lol," a fan posted.

Another fan pointed out that the PTPA needs to be "consistent" with the grievances they have put in the lawsuit and the remarks they make in public to win the case.

"This is man is showing absolute “paraculo” behavior. One day he issue a document to sue ATP and all organizations cause they colluded like a mafia to treat differently Sinner and the other day,since what he wrote is purely defamation subject to prosecution, he says the opposite," a fan wrote.

"I thought they said in their lawsuit he had preferential treatment. They are going to need to be consistent in order to win this case," a fan posted.

"So, Carlos arches an eyebrow and says to PTPA, “Keep my name out of your mouth. I don’t know or acknowledge you.” Now they’re changing their verbiage when it comes to Jannik. Fascinating! It’s too late. They used Holger, Carlos, and Jannik to validate a mess of a filing," a fan wrote.

Here are some other fan reactions:

"PTPA has too many mood swings and word salads in its pocket for a professional organization. This is the 3rd time their stance has pivoted. anyways, I hope they stick with this one, because this is correct," a fan posted.

"Ok so you let kyrgios edit the file last minute then or what," a fan wrote.

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Jannik Sinner competed only at the 2025 Australian Open before beginning three-month doping suspension

Jannik Sinner with the 2025 Australian Open trophy [Image Source: Getty Images]

Jannik Sinner had only competed in one tournament - the 2025 Australian Open, before beginning his three-month doping suspension. He was the defending champion and top seed at the Grand Slam event. Sinner began his campaign by defeating Nicolas Jarry in the first round and then overcame wild card Tristan Schoolkate in the second round.

Jannik Sinner triumphed over Marcos Giron and 13th seed Holger Rune in the third and fourth rounds, respectively. He then registered a win against eighth seed Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals and secured a win in the semifinals against 21st seed Ben Shelton to secure a spot in the final.

In the title match, Jannik Sinner defeated second seed Alexander Zverev with a score of 6–3, 7–6(4), 6–3 to win the 2025 Australian Open, his second Melbourne Major title and his third Grand Slam title overall.