Serena Williams Slams Doping Double Standards: “I’d Have Been Banned for 20 Years” if I Were Jannik Sinner

23-time Grand Slam Champion Calls Out Hypocrisy in Tennis Doping Cases: “Let’s Be Honest”

In a no-holds-barred interview with Time magazine, tennis legend Serena Williams has criticized what she sees as blatant double standards in the treatment of doping violations, saying that if she had committed the same infraction as current world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, her career would have been decimated.

“If I did that, I would have gotten [a ban of] 20 years,” Williams said. “Let’s be honest.

I would have gotten Grand Slams taken away from me.”

Sinner, 22, tested positive twice for the banned anabolic steroid Clostebol in March 2023 but was initially cleared by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) after it accepted his claim that the substance had come from contaminated skin spray used by a physiotherapist — not applied to Sinner himself.

The ruling sparked backlash from anti-doping watchdogs. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WA) appealed the decision, eventually resulting in a three-month ban — from February 9 to May 4 — widely criticized as a slap on the wrist for one of tennis’s brightest stars.

“Men’s Tennis Needs Him”

Despite her frustrations, Williams didn’t take aim at Sinner personally, calling him a “fantastic personality” and “great for the sport.”

But she made it clear: the leniency shown to Sinner is not something she believes a woman — let alone a Black woman like herself — would have received.

“I’ve been put down so much,” Williams said. “I don’t want to bring anyone down. But let’s not pretend the rules apply the same to everyone.”

A Pattern of Preferential Treatment?

Williams is not alone in raising eyebrows at the handling of the case. Even Novak Djokovic, 24-time Grand Slam winner and fellow ATP star, weighed in, telling media that the case was “not a good image for our sport” and suggesting that favoritism may be at play.

British player Liam Broady was more blunt: “It feels like the suspension was crafted to impact Jannik’s career as little as possible.”

An ITIA spokesperson denied any preferential treatment, claiming:

“We approach each case the same, irrespective of a player’s ranking or status.”

However, critics point to a troubling pattern.

Williams referenced her longtime rival Maria Sharapova, who was banned for 15 months in 2016 after testing positive for meldonium, a heart medication added to the banned list that year.

Originally handed a two-year ban, Sharapova argued the drug’s presence was an administrative error, not intentional doping — a defense CAS partly accepted.

“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.”

From Center Court to the Boardroom

Since her emotional farewell to professional tennis at the 2022 US Open, Serena Williams has been building a powerhouse post-sport career.

She recently announced her role in the ownership group of Toronto Tempo, the new WNBA franchise launching in 2026.

She’s also a minority owner of Angel City FC in the NWSL, a stakeholder in TGL (Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s golf league), and a part-owner of the Miami Dolphins alongside her sister Venus.

But tennis is still in her blood.

“I miss it a lot,” she admitted.

“I still feel healthy, I didn’t overplay during my career, and my body feels good.”

Yet the pull of family has kept her from mounting a comeback.

“Another reason I had to transition [away from tennis] was because I wanted to have more kids,” she said, referencing her two daughters, Olympia and Adira.

“And I look at Adira and I’m like, ‘Was it worth it?’

I thought about it the other day. I was like, ‘Yeah, it was definitely worth it.’”

The Takeaway

While Serena Williams has shifted her focus to business, family, and legacy-building, her voice remains a force to be reckoned with — and in a sport still wrestling with questions of equity and transparency, her message is clear: the rules must apply equally, regardless of gender, fame, or fortune.

Because if they don’t? Then the game itself is compromised.