Tennis icon Serena Williams has voiced frustration over what she sees as a glaring double standard in doping punishments within professional tennis, saying she would have faced a far harsher penalty than current men’s world No. 1 Jannik Sinner.

Speaking to Time magazine after being named to the 2025 Time100 list of most influential people, the 23-time Grand Slam champion didn’t hold back.

“I love the guy, love this game,” Williams said. “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 accepted a three-month ban in February 2025 after reaching an agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which challenged an initial tribunal ruling that had cleared him. He tested positive twice for clostebol, an anabolic agent, but maintained that the trace amounts came from a trainer who used a cream containing the substance after cutting his finger.

His explanation—and the relatively short suspension—sparked debate over potential preferential treatment and inconsistencies in how doping cases are handled.

Williams, 43, emphasised the intense scrutiny she faced throughout her career, saying she was meticulous about everything she put in her body.

“I was paranoid,” she joked. “You would have heard about [a doping case against me] in another multiverse. I’d have ended up in jail.”

Sinner, the reigning Australian Open and US Open champion, is eligible to return to competition on May 4. His case follows similar controversy surrounding women’s world No. 2 Iga Swiatek, who served a one-month ban after testing positive for trimetazidine, and Simona Halep, whose four-year suspension for roxadustat use was reduced to nine months after an appeal.

Williams last competed at the 2022 US Open but admitted she still longs for the court.

“I miss it a lot, with all my heart. I miss it because I’m healthy,” she said. “If I couldn’t walk, or if I was so out of it, I wouldn’t miss it as much.”