Serena Williams has claimed she would have received a 20-year ban for the type of doping violations that saw men’s world number one Jannik Sinner receive a three-month suspension.
Sinner is serving his ban after returning two positive drug tests last year, the Italian having reached a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Williams, the 23-time grand slam champion, has previously alleged she was the victim of discrimination due to the level of testing she faced during her career. She was tested five times by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in 2018, according to an article published by Deadspin.
Sinner accepted his ban in February after winning his third grand slam title with a successful defence of the Australian Open in January.
His defence was that he was inadvertently contaminated with the banned steroid clostebol by his physiotherapist, with whom he parted ways last August.
Former British number one Tim Henman labeled the settlement “too convenient”, while Nick Kyrgios and three-time grand slam winner Stan Wawrinka have also criticised the handling of Sinner’s case.
And in an interview with Time, Williams said: “I love the guy, I love his 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. [But] 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 also referenced the case of former rival Maria Sharapova, the five-time grand slam winner who was banned for 15 months in 2016 after testing positive for banned substance meldonium. Sharapova claimed she did not know meldonium had been added to the list of prohibited substances.
She returned in 2017 but only reached the quarter-finals of a grand slam once thereafter.
“Just weirdly and oddly, I can’t help but think about Maria all this time. I can’t help but feel for her,” Williams added.
Sinner will return in time for his home tournament, the Italian Open in May, with the length of his ban allowing him to play in the second grand slam of the year, the French Open.
The clay-court grand slam at Roland Garros begins on May 25.
