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‘I hate it… it’s unreasonable’: Serena Williams calls out tennis anti-doping system ahead of Wimbledon return | Tennis News

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'I hate it... it's unreasonable': Serena Williams calls out tennis anti-doping system ahead of Wimbledon return
Serena Williams during a practice session. (AP Photo)

Serena Williams has launched a stinging criticism of tennis’ anti-doping system ahead of her long-awaited Wimbledon comeback, branding parts of the current testing protocol “unprofessional” and “unreasonable” while admitting the rules almost convinced her not to return to professional tennis.The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, who re-entered the anti-doping testing pool before confirming her comeback, said complying with the latest whereabouts requirements has been one of the toughest aspects of returning to the tour.“It’s grueling. They changed the rules now. I didn’t know some of the rules,” Williams said ahead of her first Wimbledon appearance since 2022.“Apparently if you miss a test outside of your window, it still counts as missed. I’m like, I guess I can’t go pick up my kids.”The 44-year-old, a mother of two, is set to face Maya Joint in the opening round on Tuesday after making her competitive return earlier this month in doubles at Queen’s Club.

‘I hate it… it’s unreasonable’

While acknowledging the importance of anti-doping measures, Williams questioned the way the current system affects players with busy lives away from the court.“It’s unprofessional. I hate it,” she said. “I think it’s necessary, but I think a lot of the stuff, if I want to go places outside of my window, I should be able to go without having it count as a missed test.”Williams went on to reveal that the strict testing procedures were one of the biggest reasons she delayed her return to tennis.“That was a big reason why I didn’t want to come back either, because it’s just so hard. I mean, my life is busy. I run a company, I run a VC company, I travel the world. I have children. It’s like I could be in so many different cities so many different times,” she said.Describing the system in one word, Williams added: “It’s unreasonable.”

ITIA responds to Serena’s criticism

Williams’ comments come just days after 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova received a four-year suspension for refusing an anti-doping test, once again putting tennis’ testing system under the spotlight.The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), however, disputed Williams’ suggestion that the rules had recently changed.In a statement, the governing body said there had been “no changes to the whereabouts rules in the last few years.”The ITIA clarified that a missed test outside a player’s allocated one-hour testing window does not count as a strike, while three whereabouts failures within a 12-month period can lead to anti-doping charges even without a positive test.Despite her frustration, Williams insisted she has always supported clean sport and remains committed to complying with the rules.“I’ve always been very clear about what I do,” she said. “Just getting in that routine of, all right, first of all, learning the new rules, then just getting back and reporting every day. I guess now for 24 hours where I’m going to be is just different — at least for me. I don’t know if that works for everyone else.”

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A look back at Zinedine Zidane’s career as he becomes France’s new coach

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2026 AIG Women’s Open Sunday tee times: Round 4 pairings

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The 2026 AIG Women’s Open concludes on Sunday, Aug. 2, with the fourth round at Royal Lytham and St. Annes in England. You can find full AIG Women’s Open tee times for Sunday’s fourth round at the bottom of this post.

AIG Women’s Open Sunday tee times: What to know

If you didn’t have Yealimi Noh in your office pool this week, you’re not alone. The 25-year-old Californian arrived at Royal Lytham and St. Annes with just two top-10 finishes in majors and one LPGA Tour victory to her name.

Now, after a tidy two-under 69 on a wind-swept Saturday, she heads into the final round at seven-under, holding a three-shot lead. It’s the first time she’s ever been the front-runner at any point in a major.

Can Noh hang on?

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To do so, she’ll have to hold off a pack of pursuers. Haeran Ryu, who teed off Saturday with the lead while seeking her third consecutive major title, stumbled to a three-over 74 to fall back to four-under. She’s joined there by fellow American Lucy Li, Germany’s Esther Henseleit, Japan’s Shiho Kuwaki and World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand, who is seeking her first major championship.

Fan favorite Charley Hull, meanwhile, isn’t out of the mix. Playing in her home country, she’ll begin the final round at two-under, five shots behind.

Noh tees off at 9:35 a.m. ET alongside Henseleit.

You can watch Sunday’s final round of the AIG Women’s Open from 7 a.m.-noon ET on USA and then from noon-2 p.m. ET on NBC. Additional Sunday streaming coverage will be provided by GolfChannel.com, the Golf Channel app and the NBC Sports app.

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You can check out the complete Round 4 tee times for the 2026 AIG Women’s Open below.

2026 AIG Women’s Open tee times for Sunday: Round 4 (ET)

3:45 a.m. – Casandra Alexander, Mi Hyang Lee

3:55 a.m. – Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, Aunchisa Utama

4:05 a.m. – Aki Iwai, Julia Lopez Ramirez

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4:15 a.m. – Arpichaya Yubol, Anna Nordqvist

4:25 a.m. – Auston Kim, Nasa Hataoka

4:35 a.m. – Amanda Doherty, Jin Young Ko

4:45 a.m. – Alison Lee, Kajsa Arwefjall

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5 a.m. – Minji Kang, Alice Hewson

5:10 a.m. – Maja Stark, Patty Tavatanakit

5:20 a.m. – Amelia Garvey, Cara Gainer

5:30 a.m. – Yana Wilson, Rose Zhang

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5:40 a.m. – Ariya Jutanugarn, Yuna Araki

5:50 a.m. – Annabell Fuller, Yunseo Yang (a)

6 a.m. – Hyo Joo Kim, Nastasia Nadaud

6:15 a.m. – Manon De Roey, Lindy Duncan

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6:25 a.m. – Jenny Shin, Amy Yang

6:35 a.m. – Sara Kouskova, Pia Babnik

6:45 a.m. – Paula Martin Sampedro (a), Mao Saigo

6:55 a.m. – Hannah Green, Brooke M. Henderson

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7:05 a.m. – Dewi Weber, Sei Young Kim

7:15 a.m. – Chizzy Iwai, Yuka Saso

7:30 a.m. – Celine Boutier, Mimi Rhodes

7:40 a.m. – Alexandra Forsterling, Jing Yan

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7:50 a.m. – Lauren Coughlin, Robyn Choi

8 a.m. – Nelly Korda, Rio Takeda

8:10 a.m. – Shannon Tan, Wei-Ling Hsu

8:20 a.m. – Carla Tejedo Mulet, Jin Hee Im

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8:30 a.m. – Ashleigh Buhai, Soo Bin Joo

8:45 a.m. – Lydia Ko, Charley Hull

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Pirates’ Ryan O’Hearn expected to miss six to eight weeks with quad injury

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CINCINNATI — The Pittsburgh Pirates placed Ryan O’Hearn on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a strained left quad and he is expected to miss six to eight weeks.

O’Hearn pulled up and grabbed his left leg while running to first base on a groundout in the ninth inning on Friday night’s 8-7 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. He was helped off the field by manager Don Kelly and a member of the training staff.

The Pirates signed O’Hearn to a two-year, $2- million free-agent contract in January. He is batting .270 with 17 home runs and 69 RBIs in 96 games. He missed two weeks in May with a right quad injury.

O’Hearn has made 49 appearances at first base, 42 in right field, and 17 as the designated hitter. He homered three times and set a Pirates single-game franchise record with 10 RBIs against the Braves on July 7.

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In other moves, the Pirates recalled right-hander Isaac Mattson from triple-A Indianapolis, activated catcher/first baseman Rafael Flores Jr. from the IL and optioned right-hander Antwone Kelly to triple-A.

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“Both of them would be brilliant additions”

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Former Premier League goalkeeper Brad Friedel has urged Liverpool to sign Bradley Barcola and Desire Doue from PSG. He believes that the two players are needed at Anfield to make them a better side.

Speaking to the Daily Star, Friedel stated that Barcola and Doue are on the same level, and it would be hard to pick one of the two. He claimed that Liverpool should be looking to get both of them this summer and not just one and said:

“It’s a toss of a coin between Barcola and Doue. I think both of them would be brilliant additions to L’pool and honestly, I think both of them would be great to help with the loss of goals and assists from Salah. Both players are excellent on the left and can also drift into the middle, which is something Iraola would like a lot in how he plays.”

“Watching both at the World Cup, they both have important assets which can benefit Liverpool and contribute to an exciting style of play. So, both of them would be my preference, to add good depth to the squad because as we’ve seen it’s a long season competing in all competitions so you need plenty of quality in the squad and both of them would be huge players.”

The Reds remain in talks with PSG to sign Barcola, and the Ligue1 are open to a sale.

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Jamie Carragher does not want Bradley Barcola at Liverpool

Jamie Carragher claimed that his former side do not need Barcola. He wants them to sign a right-winger and not another winger who prefers to play on the left and told Sky Sports:

“He’s a great player, there’s no doubt about that – I’d love to get Barcola at Liverpool. But he’s a left winger for me. Liverpool’s big thing that stands out like a sore thumb right now is replacing Mo Salah, a right winger. And I don’t think L’pool have got anybody really in the squad who looks fully comfortable playing right wing.”

“They probably have at least four players in the squad before Barcola joins, if he joins, who could play on the left-hand side comfortably. Now, I’m not saying any of those players are better than Barcola. But in terms of the balance of the squad, it’s not the position L’pool need right now. They need a right winger.”

PSG were looking to sign Yan Diomande this summer, but have switched focus to Maghnes Akliouche and Mika Godts, after Real Madrid hijacked the deal for the Ivory Coast star.