Novak Djokovic-led PTPA makes massive announcement to help players with legal issues amid double standard criticism in Sinner & Swiatek doping rows

Novak Djokovic might have lost the opportunity to win a record-breaking 11th Australian Open title, but the acclaimed athlete is moving towards helping professional tennis players facing legal issues. The Professional Tennis Players Association has announced that it will launch the Athlete Counsel & Equity (ACE) Program.

The initiative is meant to provide players from both the ATP and WTA Tours with free legal assistance from the firms King & Spalding LLP and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. The announcement comes after stars such as Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek have found themselves in the middle of complex legal cases related to the use of prohibited performance enhancing substances.

Before Sinner went on to defend his Australian Open title during this year's edition of the tournament, it was announced that the Italian player had tested positive for the use of Clostebol. But even if the drug is banned from use for tennis players, Sinner managed to prove to the International Tennis Integrity Agency that he didn't take Clostebol on purpose.

The controversy caught the attention of the international tennis community. This included the PTPA led by Novak Djokovic. The ACE Program aims to help professional tennis players if a situation similar to Sinner's takes place at some point in the future.

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Controversial legal cases on the WTA Tour ft. Iga Swiatek

2025 Australian Open - Day 12 - Source: Getty

Jannik Sinner wasn't the only tennis star affected by a recent controversial legal case. Iga Swiatek tested positive for the use of trimetazidine. The WTA star received a suspension of one month addeed to the provisional suspension that took place while the case was resolved.

The suspension forced Swiatek to miss relevant events from the Asian swing of the WTA Tour. The new ACE Program will aim to help players to explore their options when it comes to these complex legal cases. In the meantime, the tennis community will have to wait in order to see how the program affects the sport.

The recent cases might remind the community of the suspension Maria Sharapova received during the final stages of her career. After participating in the 2016 edition of the Australian Open, the Russian had to face a complicated case due to the use of meldonium. The suspension would take out Sharapova from competition over the course of 15 months.

After the controversy experienced by Swiatek, Sinner, Sharapova and several others, it remains to be seen if the launch of the ACE Program will actually help players, or if the initiative by the PTPA led by Djokovic will only make matters more complicated.