Drug question puts Williams on edge
Serena Williams made a successful return to the tour at Indian Wells, defeating world No53 Zarina Diyas in her first match since the birth of her daughter Alexis Olympia in September.
But the post-match press conference took an unexpected turn as Williams was forced to defend herself over a backdated Therapeutic Use Exemption she had received for the use of prednisolone – a banned corticosteroid – during the 2015 French Open.
Having completed her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Diyas in 1hr 32min, Williams was initially jubilant. “It was incredible,” she said. “It’s been over a year and a kid later. I get to go home to her now and I’m excited about that. It definitely wasn’t easy, but it was good. I’m a little rusty, but it doesn’t matter.”
Then Williams was asked why she had required the backdated TUE, which was revealed as part of a cache of confidential data by the Fancy Bears hacker group in 2016. “Can you talk louder,” she told the questioner, as part of an acerbic exchange, “so everyone can hear you ask about my drugs?”
After informing reporters she had never tested positive, Williams explained: “I wasn’t going to play it [the French Open] unless I had a TUE because if you remember that year I was incredibly sick … I said I literally can’t play the final, but I need a TUE to take a decongestant.
“That’s one thing I take pride on. I’m never going to be able to look my daughter in the eye and say ‘Mom cheated’ or ‘Mom did something that is totally irresponsible.’”
The World Anti-doping Agency code says retroactive exemptions may be granted after an athlete needs to be treated for an “acute medical condition”. Williams can justifiably claim she fell into this category, judging by the behindthe-scenes footage included in the movie Serena. The footage showed her bedbound and struggling with a chest infection in the build-up to the French Open final.
Some athletes – including the Team Sky cyclist Geraint Thomas – are now questioning whether TUES should be abolished entirely, given the cynical way in which they can be exploited. But while a zero-tolerance stance would certainly have benefited Lucie Safarova, the runner-up at that 2015 French Open, Williams can hardly be accused of gaming the system. .
On the broader subject of what had motivated her to come back to the tennis tour after a difficult birth, which left her requiring medical treatment for a life-threatening blood clot, Williams replied: “It just wasn’t my time to retire yet. I just felt like my story wasn’t over.”
On the same night, Victoria Azarenka became the second grandslam champion to score a comeback victory in Indian Wells. Azarenka, who had not played on the tour since last year’s Wimbledon, handed out a 6-4, 6-2 beating to British No 2 Heather Watson.
There was further bad news for Britain last night when Johanna Konta was beaten 7-6, 6-4 by 18-year-old Czech Marketa Vondrousova. Konta failed to convert four set points in the first set and led 4-2 in the second.