Serena Williams speaks out against new Wimbledon rule before her tennis return
Serena Williams shared her honest thoughts about Wimbledon’s new doping rules just before making her comeback. After an amazing career with 23 Grand Slam titles and over a thousand matches, Serena announced her retirement at the 2022 U.S. Open.
Since then, she’s been enjoying time away from the spotlight, focusing on her kids, Alexis Olympia (born 2017) and Adira River (born 2023). But now, almost four years later, Serena decided to return to tennis, starting at London’s Queen’s Club in June.
She played a doubles match with Canada’s Victoria Mboko and then teamed up with Czech player Karolína Muchová in Berlin. The most exciting part? Seeing Serena back at Wimbledon, the famous tennis tournament running from June 29 to July 12.
She’ll kick off her Wimbledon run against Australia’s Maya Joint on Centre Court Tuesday afternoon. But before that, Serena opened up about how the new doping rules almost made her rethink coming back.
To return, Serena had to rejoin the anti-doping testing pool, which she finds very tough. “It’s gruelling. They changed the rules now. I didn’t even know some of them. For example, if you miss a test outside your window, it still counts as a missed test. I’m like, well, I can’t even go pick up my kids,” she said before her match.
She added, “I hate it. It feels unprofessional. I understand why it’s needed, but if I want to be somewhere outside my set time, that shouldn’t count as missing a test.”
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) requires players to give their daily location for surprise testing. If a player has three “whereabouts failures” within a year—even without failing a drug test—they can face penalties.
“That was a big reason I almost didn’t come back,” Serena admitted. “My life’s busy with running a company, traveling, and raising kids. I’m in lots of different places all the time.”
Still, Serena said she’s ready to follow the rules to play again. “I’m getting used to reporting where I’ll be every day. It feels different for me, having to plan 24 hours ahead.”
The ITIA responded to Serena’s comments, telling The Associated Press that the rules haven’t changed in years. They explained that missing a test during your set hour counts as a strike, but missing one outside that hour does not.
They said, “We know the system can be tough, but it’s meant to protect players, not make things harder. If players have questions, we’re happy to talk to them or their teams.”
It’s clear Serena is ready to face the challenges and get back on the court, giving fans plenty to look forward to at Wimbledon!