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Serena Williams says she would have had ‘grand slams taken away’ if she had failed a drugs test - AFP/Angela Weiss
Serena Williams has claimed she would have been banned for 20 years if she had failed a drug test like Jannik Sinner.
The men’s world No 1 is serving a three-month suspension from tennis after twice testing positive for performance-enhancing drug clostebol in March last year.
Sinner negotiated a three-month ban for the offences after the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) had originally found that the Italian, who has won the past two Australian Open titles and is defending US Open champion, bore no fault or negligence for the presence of the steroid in his system.
The 23-year-old had claimed he was contaminated while being given a massage by his fitness trainer, Giacomo Naldi, who had sprayed the drug onto his fingers to treat a cut.
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Jannik Sinner will be free to play in the French Open and Wimbledon given the timing of his ban - AFP/Adrian Dennis
Williams, who won 23 major women’s titles and spent 319 weeks as world No 1, has hinted at Sinner being given preferential treatment by tennis authorities by suggesting she would have received a much harsher punishment for doping.
“Fantastic personality,” Williams said about Sinner in an interview with TimeMagazine. “I love the guy, I love this game. He’s great for the sport.
“I’ve been put down so much, I don’t want to bring anyone down. Men’s tennis needs him.
“If I did that​ [tested positive for doping], I would have gotten 20 years. Let’s be honest. I would have gotten grand slams taken away from me.”
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Williams’ total of 23 Grand Slam titles is the second highest in the women’s game - AP/Ben Curtis
Williams, 43, also joked that a doping scandal during her career would have landed her in “jail”, before also sharing sympathy with Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova, who received a two-year ban in 2016, reduced to 15 months after appeal, after testing positive for meldonium, despite tennis authorities admitting her case was unintentional, like that of Sinner.
​“Just weirdly and oddly, I can’t help but think about Maria all this time,”​ she added. “I can’t help but feel for her.”
​The American is not the first tennis personality to suggest Sinner has been given an easy ride, after Novak Djokovic claimed the 23-year-old was being shown “favouritism”.
“A majority of the players don’t feel that it’s fair. A majority of the players feel like there is favouritism happening,” the 24-time grand slam winner said in February. “It seems like it appears that you can almost affect the outcome if you are a top player, if you have access to the top lawyers.”
Sinner is set to return to tennis at the Italian Open in May after his ban forced him to sit out the start of the season but not miss any grand slam tournaments. His suspension came after women’s world No 1 Iga Swiatek accepted a one-month suspension after testing positive for trimetazidine, a banned heart drug.
In contrast, former world No 1 Simona Halep was handed a four-year ban by the ITIA in 2022 for having blood-boosting drug roxadustat in her system.
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