Dubai: The new women’s world number one, Serena Williams, hopes the tennis authorities will be fairer when carrying out drug testing in the women’s game.
“I don’t know how they do it, but I’ve done drug tests a lot — all the time. I don’t see anyone else on the tour do as much. Maybe they [the authorities] put out all their money to drug-testing me,” Williams told media on Tuesday before she started her campaign at the Dubai Duty Free Women’s Open.
Asked to respond to former men’s world number one Roger Federer calling for enhanced drug testing in the sport, Williams said: “Sure, why not? But I find that I am the only one getting drug-tested so often. I really don’t know why. Maybe they should branch out a bit.”
The American, who on Monday became the oldest women’s world number one in history, said she even got tested while on holiday.
She said she was in Mauritius at the end of last year training with a few other players and her coach and boyfriend Patrick Mouratoglu when drug testers turned up.
Williams admitted she was upset that she had been pursued in this manner.
“They [the authorities] are always at my house. If I am in Paris [the home of her boyfriend], they are there. I literally was in Mauritius and they were there as well. Mauritius is really far you know. I guess they spent a lot of money getting the tickets to come to where I travel. Maybe I should go to less nice places,” she said.
