Serena Williams has sharply criticized the anti-doping system of tennis ahead of her long-awaited Wimbledon return, labeling parts of the current testing protocol “unprofessional” and “unreasonable” while admitting the rules almost convinced her not to return to professional tennis.The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, who re-entered the anti-doping pool before confirming her return, said meeting the latest residency requirements was one of the most difficult aspects of returning to the tour.“It’s exhausting. Now they’ve changed the rules. Some of the rules I didn’t know,” Williams said ahead of her first appearance at Wimbledon since 2022.“Apparently if you miss an exam outside of your working hours, it still counts as missed. I don’t think I can go get my children.”The 44-year-old mother-of-two is due to face Maya Joint in the first round on Tuesday after returning to competition earlier this month in the doubles at Queen’s Club.
‘I hate it… it’s unreasonable’
While acknowledging the importance of anti-doping measures, Williams questioned the way the current system affects players who live busy lives off the court.“It’s unprofessional. I hate it,” she said. “I think it’s necessary, but I think for a lot of things, if I want to go places outside my window, I should be able to go without it counting as a missed exam.”Williams then revealed that the strict testing procedures were one of the biggest reasons she delayed her return to tennis.“That was a big reason why I didn’t want to go back either, because it’s just so hard. I mean, my life is busy. I run a company, I run a VC firm, I travel the world. I have kids. It’s like I could be in so many different cities at so many different times,” she said.Describing the system in one word, Williams added, “It’s unreasonable.”
ITIA responds to Serena’s criticism
Williams’ comments come just days after 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrous was handed a four-year ban for failing a doping test, again putting tennis’s testing system under the spotlight.The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), however, disputed Williams’ suggestion that the rules had recently changed.In a statement, the governing body said that “there have been no changes to residency rules in the past few years.”The ITIA clarified that a missed test outside the allotted one-hour window for testing players does not count as a strike, while three failures within a 12-month period can lead to anti-doping charges even without a positive test.Despite her frustration, Williams insisted she has always supported clean sport and remains committed to following the rules.I was always very clear about what I was doing, she said. “Just getting into that routine, okay, first of all, learning the new rules, and then just coming back and reporting every day. I guess now it’s 24 hours where I’m just going to be different — at least for me. I don’t know if it works for anybody else.”
