Serena Williams has taken aim at the ban handed down to world number one Jannik Sinner, claiming she would have been suspended for 20 years if guilty of the same offence.
Sinner, who returned two positive drug tests to Clostebol, an anabolic steroid, accepted a three-month ban after reaching an agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The ban is in place from February 9 to May 4.
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In a wide-ranging interview with Time Magazine after being named one of the 100 most influential people in the world, Williams said Sinner is a “fantastic personality” and “great for the sport” but was critical of the leniency of his sentence.
“I’ve been put down so much, I don’t want to bring anyone down,” Williams said “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 then drew a comparison to Maria Sharapova who was banned for two years in 2016, reduced to 15 months on appeal, for unintentionally taking a performance enhancing drug.
“Just weirdly and oddly, I can’t help but think about Maria all this time,” Williams said.
“I can’t help but feel for her.”
The 23-time major winner is the latest high profile tennis figure to publicly criticise Sinner’s treatment.
Australian Nick Kyrgios has been among the most vocal, declaring on X “fairness in tennis does not exist”.
“So he was found guilty — hence the ban. But didn’t get stripped of anything and can play the French. Sad sad sad day,” Kyrgios posted.
Former British number one Tim Henman called the agreement between Sinner and the WTA “too convenient”, while three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka said he “did not believe in clean sport anymore”.
Italian Olympic gold medallist swimmer Federica Pellegrini, meanwhile, told La Repubblica: “I believe his case was handled differently from 99% of other athletes.”
Sinner’s violation carried a maximum sanction of four years. His defence claimed that he was inadvertently contaminated with the substance by his physiotherapist.
The Italian is expected to return at the Rome Masters, just three days after his ban ends. It will be his first appearance since winning the Australian Open in January.
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