Serena Williams slams ‘unreasonable’ Wimbledon rules just days before her London return
Serena Williams has taken aim at tennis’ anti-doping regulations ahead of her return to Wimbledon this week.
Williams, 44, is set to play her first singles match in nearly four years after accepting the tournament’s final wildcard earlier this month.
It marks his first return to SW19 in four years and comes after publicly retiring from the sport following the 2022 US Open.
Before announcing her comeback, Williams had to return to the anti-doping testing pool and was asked about her experiences of following the rules on Sunday.
‘It’s so tiring. Now they changed the rules. I didn’t know some of the rules. So apparently even if you miss a test outside your window, it’s still considered a miss. “I guess I won’t be able to go pick up my kids,” said the seven-time Wimbledon champion mother of two.
‘This is unprofessional. I hate it. I think it’s necessary, but in most cases, if I want to go to places outside my window, I think I should be able to go without it counting as a missed exam.’
Serena Williams takes aim at tennis’ anti-doping rules ahead of Wimbledon return
The 44-year-old icon is preparing for her first singles match in nearly four years.
Williams’ first match at a grass-court Grand Slam since 2022 comes against Maya Joint on Tuesday as part of her return to tennis.
Last week, the anti-doping protocol approved by the late high-profile player was in the spotlight, with 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova receiving a four-year suspension for refusing an anti-doping test.
Players are required to report their daily ‘presence’ for unannounced testing by the International Tennis Integrity Agency.
Williams called it ‘unreasonable’.
‘That was a big reason why I didn’t want to go back,’ he said, ‘because it’s so hard. So my life is busy, I run a company, I run a venture capital firm, I travel the world. I have children. It’s like I could be in so many different cities, so many different times.’
In response to Williams’ comments, ITIA told The Associated Press that the rules have been the same for several years.
‘If a tester cannot reach a player within the allotted time then this may be a ‘strike’ and three failures may lead to a penalty. “If a tester cannot reach a player outside the allotted time, this is not considered a caution,” he said.
In 2023, Jenson Brooksby was given an 18-month suspension after an independent tribunal found he had missed three drug tests in a year.
Join the discussion
Should top athletes like Serena Williams have more flexibility with strict anti-doping rules?
Williams returns to tennis and dominates Queen’s Club at the start of the month
Williams was congratulated by his wife Alexis and their children Olympia and Adira
According to anti-doping rules, athletes can be punished without positive test results if their whereabouts are not detected three times within 12 months.
‘There have been no changes to the whereabouts rules in the last few years,’ ITIA added in a statement. ‘We realize the system may seem harsh, but it is there to protect players, not trap them. ‘If players are unsure or have questions we would be happy to have a conversation with them directly or through their agent.’
Williams, who has previously criticized the frequency of anti-doping tests, said he was willing to comply and ‘always been very clear about what I was doing’.
‘I just get into this routine of, okay, first of all I learn the new rules, then I go back and report every day,’ he said. ‘I think where I’ll be 24 hours a day is very different now; at least for me. ‘I don’t know if this will work for everyone.’
The All England Club had left one of the women’s singles wildcard slots conspicuously unclaimed and on Sunday it was announced that Serena would test herself against the world’s best players, many of whom are less than half her age, at the event she has won seven times.
Four years after her last professional match, the 44-year-old began her return to tennis at the Queen’s Club’s HSBC Championships, where she won one round before being forced out due to an injury to partner Victoria Mboko.
Williams had previously signaled a potential return to grass courts after launching her comeback to competitive tennis in the doubles draw, where she was locked in to compete alongside sister Venus Williams.
