BY DAMOLA EMMANUEL (with agency report)
World Number 27, and 23-time Grand Slam champion, Serena Williams, has, once again, slammed the United States Anti-Doping Agency for what she described as discriminatory anti-doping testing on her.
The 36-year-old mother of one poured out her mind on social media, decrying the frequency with which she is selected for anti-doping tests, saying it is “test Serena” time again.
According to agency report, the former Number 1 vented her frustration on Twitter shortly after another tester visited her Tuesday night.
Williams, according to Associated Press, had complained before about being drug-tested more than other American tennis players this year.
“Just test everyone equally,” Williams declared on the eve of this year’s Wimbledon, where she lost to Angelique Kerber in the final.
Associated Press quoted to a report by Deadspin which stated that as at June 2018, Williams had been checked five times. This, says the report, is far more than tests on other American women and men in tennis.
Williams returned to competition this season after missing more than a year because of pregnancy and maternity leave. She gave birth to a daughter last September.
As part of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s “intelligent” out-of-competition testing programme, it is common for top athletes, especially those who have had sustained success in their sport, to be tested more often than others.
Following her loss to Kerber, Williams said she had proven to herself that she could still compete to win Grand Slams. Her next Grand Slam title would tie her with Margaret Court for the most with 24. She already has the most major trophies in the Open era.
Twenty-three-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams will return to the tennis court at the Rogers Cup next month in Montreal.
