Serena Williams is back in the Wimbledon spotlight at 44, and the tennis icon has said one of the sport’s anti-doping requirements has been especially frustrating to manage as she plots her comeback.
Williams, who stepped away from professional tennis after the 2022 US Open, has returned to competition in 2026 after four years away from the tour. Her comeback has been one of the biggest stories of the grass-court season, with Wimbledon marking her first Grand Slam singles appearance in nearly four years.
Before leaving the sport in 2022, Williams explained in a Vogue essay that the decision was about more than tennis alone.
“Believe me, I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family. I don’t think it’s fair.
“If I were a guy, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labor of expanding our family.”
She also made clear that her priorities were shifting beyond the court.
“I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.”
Now, as she returns to the game, Williams has spoken candidly about the strict testing and whereabouts rules players must follow in order to compete.
Speaking about the process, she said the demands can be difficult to fit around a busy personal and professional life.
“It’s grueling,” she admitted, while speaking with The Athletic.
“I didn’t know some of the rules, so apparently like if you miss a test outside of your window, it still counts as miss, and like, so I guess I can’t go pick up my kids.”
Under the anti-doping system used in tennis, players in a registered testing pool must keep officials informed of their whereabouts and provide a daily 60-minute time slot when they will be available for testing. Athletes can also be tested outside that window, and a failure to be available during the required time can be recorded as a missed test. Repeated whereabouts failures can lead to sanctions.
Williams said the system can feel especially cumbersome for a player balancing travel, business commitments and parenting.
“My life is busy, I run a company, I run a VC company. I travel the world.
“I have children, so it’s like I could be in so many different cities, so many different times, but just getting that discipline of like reporting, obviously, I don’t mind because I love, I always have been very clear about what I do.”
She added that getting back into the rhythm of professional tennis has taken some adjustment, particularly as she gets used to the structure again and learns the latest rules.