After numerous other tennis stars, 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams has now also spoken out about the Sinner doping case. She doesn't understand the decision either.
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- Serena Williams is surprised about the short doping ban against Jannik Sinner.
- The 43-year-old emphasizes that she would have been punished much more severely for a similar offence and draws parallels to the case of Maria Sharapova, who was banned for 15 months in 2016.
"If I had done that, I would have got 20 years. Let's be honest. I would have lost my Grand Slam titles," Serena Williams told "Time Magazine" in reference to the doping ban against Jannik Sinner.
The Italian is currently serving a three-month ban because he tested positive for the steroid Clostebol. Conveniently, Sinner will not miss any Grand Slam tournaments and will be allowed to play on the tour again from May 4. According to the 23-year-old, the substance entered his body unintentionally through a treatment by his physiotherapist.
The relatively short ban against Sinner caused a great deal of outrage in tennis. Numerous stars have already commented on it and critically questioned why the Italian was not banned for a longer period.
Serena Williams is also surprised. She had always paid particular attention to what she ate and had not taken anything stronger than ibuprofen for fear of swallowing something that could get her into trouble. A doping scandal would have "landed her in jail", she laughs to Time magazine. "You would have heard about it in another multiverse."
Williams is also irritated that other players before Sinner were punished much more severely for similar offenses. She compares the case with her former opponent Maria Sharapova. She was banned for 15 months in 2016 for taking a banned drug. "I can't help but think about Maria all the time. I can't help but feel for her."
