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Jannik Sinner may well be the top-ranked men’s tennis player on the planet, but that doesn’t mean he should receive special treatment when it comes to doping punishment. At least, that’s what legendary 23-time grand slam winner Serena Williams feels about the three-month ban handed down to Sinner after testing positive for Clostebol in March of 2024.
“I love the guy, love this game,” Williams told Time magazine after being named as part of the Time100 list of most influential people. “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.”
Serena Williams Joins Tennis Superstars In Criticizing Jannik Sinner Doping Ban
Williams is just the latest in a long line of superstar players to criticize WADA’s punishment of Sinner. The ban, which went into place following this year’s Australian Open, won’t see Sinner miss any grand slam tournaments. Novak Djokovic, through the Professional Tennis Players Association which was founded, felt the punishment made a mockery of anti-doping systems in tennis
“Regardless of whom you support, there are several clear things. The ‘system’ is not a system. It is a club. The supposed case-by-case discretion is, in fact, a mere cover-up for unfair dealings and inconsistent resolutions,” the Professional Tennis Players Association, which was founded by Djokovic, said in a statement.
Williams, meanwhile, would know more than most about the harm that doping accusations that do to a legacy. She and her sister Venus regularly at the center of allegations throughout her career due to both their muscular statures and their race.
She joked in the TIME interview that a PED scandal would have landed her “in jail.”
“You would have heard about it in another multiverse,” Williams said.
But for Sinner, it was just a slap on the wrist, and nobody other than him seems to be satisfied with the outcome.