Serena says she’d get 20-year ban for Sinner-like drugs test failure

American tennis icon Serena Williams has said she would have faced a 20-year ban and been stripped of her Grand Slam titles had she tested positive for banned substances like current men's world number one Jannik Sinner.

Sinner accepted a three-month ban earlier this year under an agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency, which had challenged an independent tribunal's decision to exonerate him following two positive tests for the anabolic steroid clostebol.

"I love the guy, love this game," Williams, who retired in 2022 after winning 23 Grand Slam trophies, told Time Magazine.

"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."

Reuters has contacted Sinner's team and WADA for comment.

Reigning Australian Open and US Open champion Sinner, whose ban will end on May 4, has always maintained his innocence, though his case raised questions about whether he had received preferential treatment from the authorities.

Iga Swiatek's case also caused some surprise with the women's world number two accepting a one-month suspension in November after testing positive for the banned substance trimetazidine.

Former world number one Simona Halep was also banned despite denying knowingly taking the banned drug roxadustat, and her four-year suspension was cut to nine months in 2024 after an appeal at sport's highest court.

Williams also said she took extra care with what she put into her body during her career in case she ingested something that got her in trouble.