Serena Williams believes double standards is evident in tennis following Jannik Sinner’s doping ban.
The men’s world no.1 is currently serving a three-month ban for two positive drug tests he returned last year.
Sinner was suspended in February after reaching an agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
However, WADA had hoped to secure a two-year ban after appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Williams, meanwhile, believes she would have been hit with a significantly larger sanction if she failed two drug tests.
In an interview with Time, she explained: “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.
“[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.”
Sinner is free to return from his ban on May 4, one day before the start of the Italian Open in Rome.
The Italian’s suspension ends three weeks ahead of this year’s French Open as he eyes a fourth Grand Slam title.
Prior to his ban, Sinner won a second consecutive Australian Open back in January and is also the reigning US Open champion.
Meanwhile, Williams joked that she would have been put ‘in jail’ if she had to deal with a similar case to the 23-year-old.
She added: “You would have heard about it in another multiverse.”
The 43-year-old previously claimed in 2018 that she was the victim of ‘discrimination’ over the volume of drug testing she faced.
In a post on social media, she wrote: “And it’s that time of the day to get ‘randomly’ drug tested and only test Serena.
“Out of all the players it’s been proven I’m the one getting tested the most. Discrimination? I think so. At least I’ll be keeping the sport clean.”
Williams was tested out of competition five times by the United States Anti-Doping Agency during 2018.
This amounted to more than twice as many times as other top American players.
The tennis icon’s 23 Grand Slam titles is an Open Era record for the women’s singles.
Novak Djokovic is the only player with more overall Grand Slam singles titles than Williams with 24.
After 27 years as a professional, of which five ended with Williams as world number one, she retired from tennis in 2022.
