In a new interview, the 23-time Grand Slam champion reflected on the retired Russian tennis star’s 2016 controversy.
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Photo:Karwai Tang/WireImage; Pascal Le Segretain/Getty
Serena Williams has her former tennis rival Maria Sharapova on the mind as current-day stars of the sport are getting suspensions for using banned substances.
“Just weirdly and oddly, I can’t help but think about Maria all this time,” Williams, 43, said in a new interview in Time. “I can’t help but feel for her.”
The 23-time Grand Slam champion is concentrating her focus as being a “wonderful” mother to daughters Olympia, 7, and Adira, 20 months, whom she shares with husband Alexis Ohanian and investing in female-focused entrepreneurial efforts with their company Serena Ventures.
But Sharapova and her 2016 doping scandal is also top of mind, as several of the top stars on tour face controversy — including Simona Halep, who is currently serving a four-year suspension for doping, and Jannik Sinner, who was given a three-month ban for testing positive for a performance-enhancing sub.
Sharapova was handed a two-year suspension in 2016 after testing positive for the banned substance meldonium.
In the interview, Williams said she was “surprised” about Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner’s three-month suspension for testing positive for a performance enhancing substance.
“I love the guy, I love his game,” the tennis icon said. “He’s great for the sport.”
Williams added, “I’ve been put down so much, I don’t want to bring anyone down. Men’s tennis needs him.”
The outspoken businesswoman then reflected on Sinner’s relatively short suspension.
“If I did that, I would have gotten 20 years. Let’s be honest,” she said, and added that she never took anything stronger than Advil during her playing days. “I would have gotten Grand Slams taken away from me. You would have heard about it in another multiverse.”
As she continues to evolve away from tennis, Williams shared in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE last November that she also has something else on her plate: concentrating on being as fit as she can be.
“I’ve gotten obsessed, more obsessed with diet and exercise, I think, than when I was playing tennis,” Williams told PEOPLE, adding that she is eying running a half-marathon by the end of 2025. “I knew that I was going to burn 20,000 calories a day, and now I’m like, ‘Oh my god, I don’t know how many calories I’m going to be able to burn!’ ”
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