Serena Williams said she was surprised by the three-month suspension given to Jannik Sinner, claiming she would have been banned for 20 years and stripped of her Grand Slam titles had she failed drug tests like he did last year.
Men’s world No. 1 Sinner failed two drug tests in March 2024 for low levels of performance-enhancing substance clostebol but was cleared by an independent tribunal in August after it accepted his explanation of unintentional contamination.
However, in September, the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed that decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, pushing for a potential two-year ban.
Finally, in February this year, the long doping saga ended after Sinner agreed to a three-month ban from tennis following an agreement with WADA. The three-time Grand Slam champion also admitted “partial responsibility” for team mistakes.
The February 9 to May 4 suspension meant Italian Sinner would be free to play in the French Open, the second Grand Slam of the season, which begins on May 25 at Roland Garros.
“Fantastic personality. I love the guy, I love this game. He’s great for the sport,” Williams told Time Magazine in an interview.
“I’ve been put down so much, I don’t want to bring anyone down. Men’s tennis needs him.”
But, she said, “If I did that, I would have gotten 20 years. Let’s be honest. I would have gotten Grand Slams taken away from me.”
Williams, who won 23 Grand Slams during her career, said she was always extra careful about what went into her body, taking nothing stronger than Advil for fear of ingesting something that could get her in trouble.
The American great joked that a performance-enhancing drugs scandal would have landed her “in jail”. “You would have heard about it in another multiverse,” she said.
Serena Williams Isn’t The First To Question The Ban
Williams is not the first player to question whether Sinner received preferential treatment from the authorities.
Earlier, Australian player Nick Kyrios, a harsh critic of Sinner, wrote on social media: “Guilty or not? Sad day for tennis. Fairness in tennis does not exist.”
Three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka said “I don’t believe in a clean sport anymore”. Canadian player Denis Shapovalov also raised concerns, saying “Can’t imagine what every other player that got banned for contaminated substances is feeling right now.
“Different rules for different players.”
Men’s World No. five and 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic said a majority of players believe favoritism is at play in the tennis anti-doping system.
“The two cases of Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner have attracted a lot of attention and it’s not a good image for our sport,” he said. “A majority of the players don’t feel that (the process is) fair. A majority of the players feel like there is favoritism happening.
“It appears that you can almost affect the outcome if you are a top player if you have access to the top lawyers and whatnot,” Djokovic added.
World number two Swiatek accepted a one-month suspension in November 2024 after testing positive for the prohibited substance trimetazidine (TMZ).