"If you're going to beat me, then you're going to beat me and I'll congratulate you - but I'm never, ever, going to take an advantage and try to have an advantage over someone else because that's not who I am...and it'll never be who I am." #QUEEN @serenawilliams ❤️
(VIDEO) "I’m never, ever going to take an advantage": Serena Williams' doping comments re-surface amid Halep doping ban controversy
Tennis NewsWednesday, 13 September 2023 at 20:00
A video of a press conference in which Serena Williams clearly states that she would never dope has re-surfaced amid the Simona Halep doping ban controversy.
It was October of last year when former World No. 1 Halep was provisionally suspended after testing positive for the banned substance roxadustat at the 2022 US Open. In May of this year, the 31-year-old was hit with a second doping charge due to irregularities in her biological passport.
After multiple delays, a tribunal was held in the summer and after another long wait for the verdict, Halep was hit with a four-year ban by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) due to anti-doping violations.
Williams hits out at Halep after suspension
Following the news of the ban, Williams hit out at Halep with a loaded post on X, formerly known as Twitter, writing "8 is a better number."
Fans quickly pieced together that the 41-year-old was suggesting that the Romanian player's suspension should be doubled. Moreover, several also figured out that Williams was referring to their meeting in the final of Wimbledon 2019, where Halep beat the 23-time Grand Slam champion in straight sets. This is because if the result had gone the other way, Serena would have won her eighth title at the grasscourt major.
Since then, footage has re-emerged on social media which highlights Williams' complete disdain for cheating in the sport. The video features the American at a press conference at the 2018 Indian Wells, where she makes her views on doping clear.
Williams: I will never take an advantage
"I've played over 20 years and I've always been extremely honest," Williams said, "and that's one thing I take pride on, especially having a daughter and having a kid. I'm never going to be able to look my kid in the eye and say 'mom cheated' or 'mom did something like that.' That is totally irresponsible," she said at the press conference.
Williams added that she would 'never, ever' try to get an advantage over another player by doping.
"And even before that, I've always had that attitude. I've always been the kind of player that... If you're going to beat me, you're going to beat me and I'm going to congratulate you. But I'm never, ever going to take an advantage and try to have an advantage over someone else because that's not who I am and that'll never be who I am," she continued.
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