Serena Williams has claimed she would have been banned for 20 years if she had failed a doping test like world No1 Jannik Sinner.
The Italian is set to return from his three-month ban at the Italian Open next month after he twice tested positive for clostebol in March of last year.
Doping authorities accepted his explanation that clostebol entered his system via a massage after his physio treated a cut on his own finger with an over-the counter spray containing the anabolic steroid. He was initially given no ban at all by the Tennis Integrity Agency but WADA appealed that decision and reached a controversial settlement with Sinner in February.
In an interview with Time Magazine, Williams, 43, said of Sinner: ‘Fantastic personality. I love the guy, I love his game. 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.
‘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 joked that any doping controversy during her career would have seen her ‘jailed’, saying: ‘You would have heard about it in another multiverse.’
Serena Williams has spoken out on Jannik Sinner’s doping ban as the player returns to court
The world No1 will play his first tournament since winning the Australian Open in Italy this May
Williams had some sympathetic words for her former rival Maria Sharapova (pictured in 2004) who received a 15-month ban in 2016
The 23-time Grand Slam champion also reference her former rival Maria Sharapova, who in 2016 was banned for two years (reduced to 15 on appeal) for testing positive for meldonium, which the Russian claimed she did not realise had recently been added to the list of prohibited substances.
‘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.’
Williams is far from the first former or current player to suggest Sinner got off lightly – at least in comparison to others.
Novak Djokovic said after the announcement of the three-month settlement: ‘A majority of the players don’t feel that it’s fair. A majority of the players feel like there is favouritism happening. It seems like it appears that you can almost affect the outcome if you are a top player, if you have access to the top lawyers.’