LONDON (AP) 鈥� Coco Gauff said she was brought to tears by a 鈥減ushy鈥� anti-doping tester. Serena Williams called the system 鈥� .鈥�
Protocols designed to protect tennis from doping are in the spotlight as players open up about their experiences navigating the system in the aftermath of a four-year ban handed to 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova 鈥� not for testing positive but for .
Players are required to provide a 60-minute time slot each day to be available for testing, plus the International Tennis Integrity Agency says that if a doping control officer “locates and notifies a player outside of that hour, they must complete the test.鈥�
Naturally, there’s a need for communication between players and testers.
鈥淚鈥檓 not going to lie, some of them can be pushy, make you feel like you鈥檙e doing something wrong,鈥� Gauff, the No. 7 seed, said after her first-round victory at Wimbledon.
鈥淥ne time she came outside my time slot. But the way she was speaking to me on the phone, it literally made me cry afterwards,” the 22-year-old American said. “I found out I was in the right, and I didn鈥檛 have to do anything.鈥�
Ahead of her first-round match Tuesday, described her close calls.
鈥淚鈥檓 very scared of the system because it feels broken,” she said. “I鈥檝e had a few experiences of my own where it was about technicalities and when I speak to people in charge they鈥檙e not helpful 鈥� I don鈥檛 want to say they don鈥檛 care 鈥� but they weren鈥檛 very helpful at all to explain things or just show some sort of compassion when I was nowhere near missing a test or testing positive.鈥�
The Australian player said she was seeking help about how the app works.
鈥淚 was new to the whole system. And I was at two fails for a month and I knew if I get a third one accidentally I would be out for at least two, three years,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 in a way, I won鈥檛 say no fault of my own but it鈥檚 not to the degree of being banned and smearing your name. In that sense, I think there鈥檚 so much to improve on.鈥�
Williams, who makes her , said the testing system was 鈥渁 big reason why I didn鈥檛 want to come back either, because it鈥檚 just so hard.”
The Vondrousova case
The 27-year-old Czech player, who became Wimbledon鈥檚 first unseeded female champion when she beat Ons Jabeur in the 2023 final, refused to take a test in early December 2025 after a doping control officer rang her apartment’s intercom at 8 p.m.
This month, following a hearing by an independent tribunal, Vondrousova received the maximum four-year ban for a first offense.
ITIA published a of the case, saying Vondrousova on the night in question challenged the timing of the test because it was outside her designated time slot.
The agency noted: 鈥淚f a Doping Control Officer, or DCO, locates and notifies a player outside of that hour, they must complete the test.鈥�
Vondrousova had described the tester as 鈥渁ggressive鈥� and said the frequent ringing of the intercom 鈥渢riggered a state of distress,” the ITIA video says.
The tribunal’s June 22 decision confirmed that Vondrousova refused the test and that the evidence 鈥減rovided no compelling justification for doing so.鈥�
The ITIA added that under World Anti-Doping Agency rules, 鈥渢est refusals can be sanctioned as severely as positive tests.” One rationale is an athlete who is doping could simply refuse a test and seek a lighter punishment.
Last year, the ITIA said it conducted over 8,000 tests both in and out of competition 鈥渁nd received a handful of complaints. We take all feedback on board and encourage players to share their views with us.鈥� Other organizations, such as the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, also conduct player testing.
On possible changes to the system, the ITIA noted that tennis follows WADA rules and processes, which “will be refreshed in 2027. As part of this process, WADA consults with athletes from across global sport.鈥�
鈥淲e understand the system can seem challenging,” the ITIA said, 鈥渂ut it is there to protect players, not to trip them up. If players are ever unsure about a test, have questions, or would like to provide feedback on their experience, we want to hear about it.鈥�
Some players say a 4-year ban is harsh
Jessica Pegula, the No. 4 seed, said she didn’t know the full details of Vondrousova’s case but that 鈥淚 feel, like, for Marketa.鈥�
鈥淔or something like that, for four years, you鈥檙e ruining someone鈥檚 career over something that could have really just been a complete misunderstanding, and I just don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 fair. I think the sentencing is so harsh,” Pegula said.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 quite understand the difference between that and then obviously what happened with (Jannik) Sinner and Iga (Swiatek),鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey justified what the rules were and why it was the way it was.鈥�
, the defending men’s champion at Wimbledon, accepted in a settlement with WADA in early 2025 following his two positive doping tests from the prior year. WADA had challenged ITIA’s decision for what it judged was accidental contamination 鈥� entering his system through a massage 鈥� by a banned anabolic steroid.
Swiatek, Wimbledon’s defending women’s champion, in 2024 after testing positive for the banned substance trimetazidine, a heart medication. The ITIA accepted her explanation that the result was unintentional and caused by the contamination of a nonprescription medication, melatonin, that Swiatek was taking for issues with jet lag.
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