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Serena Williams will compete in women’s singles at Wimbledon for the first time since 2022, entering the tournament as a wild card entrant. She is also in the doubles event with her sister, Venus, for the first time since 2016.
The road to returning to professional tennis was long. Williams had to return to the anti-doping pool. When asked about the process on Sunday, the 44-year-old tennis legend called the system “unprofessional” and “unfair”.
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Serena Williams of the United States arrives to train a day before the start of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London on June 28, 2026. (Kin Cheung/Associated Press)
“It’s exhausting. They’ve changed the rules now. I didn’t know some of the rules. So apparently if you miss a test outside your window, it still counts as missed. “It’s unprofessional. I hate it. I think it’s necessary, but I think a lot of the things, if I want to go places outside my window, I need to be able to go without having it count as a missed test.”
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) requires players to provide their daily “whereabouts” for unannounced testing. It’s a feature that has come under a lot of scrutiny over the past few weeks.
Marketa Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon champion, was suspended for four years for refusing an anti-doping test.
Williams called the process “unfair.”
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Serena Williams of the United States smiles after a practice session at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in London on June 25, 2026. (Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP)
“That was a big reason why I didn’t want to come back either because it’s just so hard. I mean, my life is busy, I run a company, I run a VC firm, I travel the world. I have kids. It’s like I could be in so many different cities, so many different times,” she said.
ITIA responded to Williams’ comments.
“If a tester is unable to reach a player during their allotted time, then it may well be a ‘strike,’ and three mistakes could lead to a charge. If a tester is unable to reach a player outside of their allotted hour, it is not considered a strike,” the agency says.
“There have been no changes to the residency rules in the last few years,” ITIA added. “We understand the system can seem challenging, but it’s there to protect players, not trip them up. If players are unsure or have questions, we want to have a conversation with them directly or through their agents.”
Serena Williams of the United States returns during a practice session ahead of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London on June 24, 2026. (Kin Cheung/AP)
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Regardless, Williams has said she has always been willing to abide by the rules.
