TENNIS TUESDAY: Serena (Finally) Addresses Rumors About Her Bizarre Wimbledon Behavior

Serena Williams has (finally) addressed the rumors and innuendoes circulating to try to explain her erratic demeanor on the second Tuesday of Wimbledon three days after being surprisingly ousted by Alize Cornet in 3 sets in the 3rd round.

In an interview to Sports Illustrated, the 17-time major champion says:

“I have nothing to hide,” she says. “No, I didn’t take anything. If you want to ask me if I took drugs, I didn’t take drugs. I’m not on drugs. I’ve heard it all. I’m not pregnant; I wasn’t pregnant. Although I think a baby would be great, but there’s a time and place for everything. But no, I don’t do drugs. Never did ’em. I’m scared of ’em. I’m not on that stuff.”

Word had gone around that some in the women’s locker room that day, watching her distress live on TV, were pantomiming Serena drinking. 

But, Williams says, she wasn’t drunk, either. “God, no,” she says, laughing. “I wish.”

And she goes on to give her side of the story:

Her Wimbledon explanation: After losing meekly the previous Saturday in a third-round singles match to 25th seed Alizé Cornet, Williams took to her bed for the next three days, feeling dehydrated, dizzy and feverish, “just in my room, sweating like crazy.” She was not examined by a doctor. Venus urged her repeatedly to pull out of their Tuesday doubles match. “Begged me not to play,” Serena says.

Serena also says that the anti-doping testers showed up at her room at about 7am just as she was throwing up but she let them in and they took her sample. It has been almost 6 weeks since the incident and Serna says she has not been informed of anything being amiss.