Serena Williams criticizes 'grueling' anti-doping process ahead of Wimbledon return

Serena Williams volition enactment successful women’s singles astatine Wimbledon for the archetypal clip since 2022, entering the tourney arsenic a chaotic paper entrant. She’s besides successful the doubles lawsuit with her sister, Venus, for the archetypal clip since 2016.

The roadworthy to get backmost to nonrecreational tennis was a agelong one. Williams had to spell backmost into the anti-doping pool. When asked astir the process connected Sunday, the 44-year-old tennis fable called the strategy "unprofessional" and "unreasonable."

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Serena Williams of the United States arrives to signifier 1 time earlier the commencement of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships successful London connected June 28, 2026. (Kin Cheung/Associated Press)

"It’s grueling. They changed the rules now. I didn’t cognize immoderate of the rules. So seemingly if you miss a trial extracurricular of your window, it inactive counts arsenic missed. I’m like, I conjecture I can’t spell prime up my kids," she said. "It’s unprofessional. I hatred it. I deliberation it’s necessary, but I deliberation a batch of the stuff, if I privation to spell places extracurricular of my window, I should beryllium capable to spell without having it number arsenic a missed test."

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) requires players to supply their regular "whereabouts" for no-notice testing. It’s a diagnostic that has travel nether overmuch scrutiny implicit the past fewer weeks.

Marketa Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon champion, was suspended for 4 years for refusing an anti-doping test.

Williams called the process "unreasonable."

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Serena Williams of the United States smiles aft a grooming league astatine the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club up of the Wimbledon Championships successful London connected June 25, 2026. (Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP)

"That was a large crushed wherefore I didn’t privation to travel backmost either due to the fact that it’s conscionable truthful hard. I mean, my beingness is busy, I tally a company, I tally a VC company, I question the world. I person children. It’s similar I could beryllium successful truthful galore antithetic cities truthful galore antithetic times," she said.

The ITIA responded to Williams’ comments.

"If a tester is incapable to scope a subordinate during their allocated hour, past it whitethorn good beryllium a ‘strike,’ and 3 failures could pb to a charge. If a tester is incapable to scope a subordinate extracurricular of their allocated hour, it is not considered a strike," the bureau said.

"There person been nary changes to the whereabouts rules successful the past fewer years," the ITIA added. "We recognize the strategy tin look challenging, but it is determination to support players, not to travel them up. If players are unsure oregon person questions, we would invited a speech with them straight oregon done their agents."

Serena Williams of the United States plays a instrumentality during a signifier league up of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships successful London connected June 24, 2026. (Kin Cheung/AP)

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Regardless, Williams has said she’s ever been consenting to comply with the rules.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.