"Martina Navratilova's a shill for the establishment", "She's correct" - Fans divided over legend's take on Jannik Sinner, Iga Swiatek doping rows

Martina Navratilova recently had her say on the fiasco surrounding Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek's doping controversies. The legendary Czech-American lambasted the 'system', but at the same time, vouched for Sinner and Swiatek's innocence. Navratilova's take though, left tennis fans polarized, with one section blatantly disagreeing with her, and another vociferously supporting her opinion on the subject.

Navratilova, currently a part of Tennis Channel's coverage of the 2025 Australian Open, told the rest of the network's panel:

"I'll be very diplomatic here and say that it all stinks. The whole system needs to be blown up and started over again. There is so much scrutiny over WADA right now with what they did with Chinese swimmers… both Sinner and Swiatek, the no. 1s, for sure they were not doping. I mean, we're trying to catch cheaters and not people that have their massage creams on their body or took a sleeping pill that they've been taking for five years and now its tainted."

The former WTA No. 1 and 18-time singles Major winner also questioned the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA's) intervention in Jannik Sinner's case. The reigning ATP No. 1 was initially cleared to play by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), which had ruled that the Italian was not responsible for his exposure to the prohibited substance Clostebol.

"I mean you're guilty until proven innocent in this and for Sinner, he thought he was done with it and now WADA is appealing? Why? I just don't get it. There has to be a lot of light shone onto this. We just need to get a better system than what we had."

However, Martina Navratilova's words stirred a debate among fans on X (formerly Twitter). Several criticized the Czech-American, particularly due to her belief that Sinner and Swiatek did nothing wrong.

"When was the last time that Martina was right about anything?" asked one fan.

"How much are they paying Martina?" another questioned.

"Just tell Martina that Sinner is big Trump fan and she will beg WADA for a life ban for Jannik," yet another fan chimed in.

"Wtf! There's no way Martina believes the massage story, no way! She's a shill for the establishment," one harshly opined.

"Why would a sleeping pill you've been taking for 5 years suddenly show show up as a positive drug test?" a fan asked, referring to Iga Swiatek's case.

There were also those who sided with Navratilova.

"@Martina is right. Antidoping is to fight REAL doping, not massages or sleeping pills. To think that a strong young player try to dope with a massage is like believe that Granma ate the wolf. Crazy that adult people can say. Unless they've other interests or are paid to say it," one fan wrote.

"She’s 100% correct. The punishments for contamination are absurd. And all the players who suffered under this unfair treatment for testing positive for minute amounts of a banned substance should be compensated," added another.

"Martina knows...," yet another fan weighed in.

While Iga Swiatek accepted a one-month ban, which she has already served, WADA's appeal seeking a ban of up to two years for Jannik Sinner is set to be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in April this year.

Remarkably, despite the off-court controversy surrounding the ATP No. 1, his on-court performances have continued to yield accolades and titles. Since the initial revelation of his Clostebol-positive tests, Jannik Sinner has won a series of prestigious titles.

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Jannik Sinner won 2024 editions of US Open, Rolex Shanghai Masters, Nitto ATP Finals and Davis Cup after doping revelation

Jannik Sinner with the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals title (Source: Getty)

At the 2024 US Open, ahead of which his doping controversy first came to the fore, Jannik Sinner picked up his second Grand Slam title following a comprehensive 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 final win over home favorite Taylor Fritz.

Sinner's red-hot form continued during the Asian hardcourt swing, as he reached the China Open final and later won the Rolex Shanghai Masters after defeating Novak Djokovic in the final. The Italian's last ATP Tour-level outing in 2024 came at the year-end Nitto ATP Finals, where he once again came out on top against Fritz at the last hurdle.

The World No. 1 then proceeded to play a pivotal role in helping Italy win the Davis Cup title for the second successive year. Right now, Jannik Sinner is in Melbourne for the 2025 Australian Open, where he has already sealed his place in the second round following a first-round win over Nicolas Jarry.