23 Time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams claims she would have received a 20 year ban if she had failed a drugs test similar to that which ATP World No. 1 Jannik Sinner received just a three  month suspension in February 2025.

“I love the guy, love this game,” Williams, told Time magazine  after being named one of its 100 most influential people.

“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.”

43 year old Williams retired in 2022 and joked that she took extra precautions to avoid any accidental ingestion of an illegal substance, and that a PED scandal would have landed her “in jail.”

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

Sinner’s  suspension ends on May 4, having twice tested positive for the banned substance clostebol in March 2024 and is expected to make his return to the tour at the Italian Open, in the  ATP 1000 clay-court tournament in Rome beginning on May 5.

The Italian has always maintained his innocence, claiming the drug entered his system through a massage from his trainer.

The ATP is facing a class-action lawsuit spearheaded by 12 players as Novak Djokovic’s union goes to war with the sanctioning body.

The Professional Tennis Players Association will drag tine ATP into the American legal process over what the PTPA labels as a “cartel”

Also included in the action are the women’s WTA, the Grand Slam umbrella body the International Tennis Federation and the sport’s antidoping bosses at the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).

The 163-page complaint filed in New York is also being mooted in the EU and the UK, home of Wimbledon.

Complaints by players include issues such as prize money, the rankings system and schedule, the ITIA investigative practices and also complain about (mainly lower-ranking) players being deprived of ancillary and marketing income which they deserve.

With major stars of the game earning tens of millions per season – including sponsorship monies – the little people represented by the PTPA have been feeling left out for years.

The PTPA got its start in 2022 spearheaded by Canadian Vasek Popspil and former world No. 1 Djokovic.

The current lawsuit includes controversial Aussie Nick Kyrgios as a plaintiff, with the legal action seeking an American jury trial.

“Tennis is broken,” PTPA executive director Ahmad Nassar said. “Behind the glamorous veneer that the Defendants promote, players are trapped in an unfair system that exploits their talent, suppresses their earnings, and jeopardizes their health and safety.

“We have exhausted all options for reform through dialogue, and the governing bodies have left us no choice but to seek accountability through the courts. Fixing these systemic failures isn’t about disrupting tennis – it’s about saving it for the generations of players and fans to come.”

The ATP has rejected the claims and said they are ready for a legal battle, saying the action “to be entirely without merit.” 

“Throughout more than three decades, ATP’s 50-50 governance structure has ensured that players and tournaments have an equal voice in shaping the sport’s direction at the highest level.”

The sanctioning body points to a USD 70 million prize money and player payout revenue over the last five years, with the ATP suggesting it is taking care of minor players with its reforms.

The WTA also jumped in with a statement on the “misguided” lawsuit while antidoping also protested their innocence.

Pospisil said the battle for better pay has only begun, with accusations that the ATP and its partner tournament conspire to cap prize money to keep a larger share for themselves..

The PTPA also complained about playing conditions including extreme heat and 3 a.m. match finishes in front of near-empty stands – most notably at the US and Australian Opens, the major offenders.

The suit says tennis players receive only 17 percent of tournament revenues whereas in other sports – read gold – the split is closer to 35-50 percent.

“This is about fairness, safety, and basic human dignity,” Pospisil said in a statement. 

“I’m one of the more fortunate players and I’ve still had to sleep in my car when travelling to matches early on in my career – imagine an NFL player being told that he had to sleep in his car at an away game.”

He added, “It’s absurd and would never happen, obviously. No other major sport treats its athletes this way. The governing bodies force us into unfair contracts, impose inhumane schedules, and punish us for speaking out.”

Main photo:- Executive Director Ahmad Nassar and Head of PTPA Global Services Tarik Koubaa – ©PTPA

Jannik Sinner has agreed to a three month suspension from ATP play in a deal cut to end the doping saga which has engulfed the World No. 1 in recent months.

The Italian’s team dropped the news on Sunday.

In the agreement with the World Anti Doping Agency, Sinner acknowledged his partial responsibility for the errors made by his team.

He tested positive last season for a banned substance which entered his body after his ex-physio used a cream containing the substance to heal a cut on his own hands and then massaged the player.

The anti-doping body admitted that Sinner, did not derive any competitive advantage from the two positive tests for minimal traces of clostebol detected in his system.

“This case has been hanging over me now for nearly a year and the process still had a long time to run with a decision maybe only at the end of the year” he said in a statement.

“I’ve always accepted that I am responsible for my team and realise WADA’s strict rules are an important protection for the sport I love”

“On that basis I have accepted WADA’s offer to resolve these proceedings on the basis of a three month sanction”

While timings of the three month suspension were not released, if it begins in the next days it would me that Sinner could play Roland Garros which begins on 25th May.

Sinner will now miss Indian Wells and Miami Masters events next month in the US along with European clay masters dates in Monte Carlo and Madrid in April and Rome in early May.