The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has issued a statement to Ubitennis after Serena Williams criticised their procedures ahead of her Wimbledon return.
Williams rejoined the testing process last year as the first part of her comeback to the sport. Under current rules, she must be on the system for at least six months before being eligible to play at Tour-level events. Whilst the 44-year-old is familiar with anti-doping testing, she voiced her frustration about one particular area.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion criticised out-of-hours testing, where testers can turn up for a sample outside of the allotted one-hour window given by athletes. Known as unpredictable testing, ITIA chief executive Karen Moorhouse recently described the process as an ‘essential tool to protect clean sport.’ The topic has been brought into the limelight recently following the four-year ban of Marketa Vondrousova, who refused an anti-doping test that took place outside of the hour slot.
“It’s gruelling,” Williams said during her Wimbledon press conference on Sunday. “They changed the rules now. I didn’t know some of the rules. So apparently if you miss a test outside of your window, it still counts as missed. I’m like, I guess I can’t go pick up my kids.
“It’s unprofessional. I hate it. I think it’s necessary, but if I want to go places outside of my window, I should be able to go without having it count as a missed test.
“I mean, my life is busy. I run a company, I travel the world. I have children. It’s like I could be in so many different cities so many different times.”
In response, the ITIA has clarified it’s whereabouts policy by saying that no changes have been made in recent times despite what Williams has said. The organisation insists the rules are not there to ‘trip up players.’
“Following Serena’s comments, it is worth clarifying the Whereabouts rules. If a tester is unable to reach a player during their allocated hour, then it may well be a “strike”, and three failures could lead to a charge. If a tester is unable to reach a player outside of their allocated hour, it is not considered a strike,” an ITIA spokesperson said.
“There have been no changes to the Whereabouts rules in the last few years. We understand the system can seem challenging, but it is there to protect players, not to trip them up. If players are unsure or have questions, we would welcome a conversation with them directly or through their agents.”
Williams, who describes the anti-doping system as ‘unreasonable’ and ‘unprofessional’, is making her singles return at Wimbledon. She will play Maya Joint in the first round on Tuesday.
