Marketa Vondrousova has been told she “f***** up” for refusing to take a doping test but the former Wimbledon champion is being treated “ridiculously”.

That is according to Serena Williams’ coach, Rennae Stubbs, who has a great deal of sympathy for Vondrousova in the midst of her four-year ban.

The Czech refused to let a doping control officer into her Prague home to conduct the test in December 2025, and this summer, it was announced the 27-year-old will serve a ban until June 2030.

The independent tribunal described the case as a “very unfortunate matter,” but Vondrousova offered “no compelling justification” for a shorter suspension.

This week, the former French Open finalist opened up on life under the ban, which included having to submit her whereabouts, providing a daily one-hour testing window, and undergoing regular doping tests despite not being able to play.

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Vondrousova also explained how the doping ban rules mean she cannot train at her tennis club, attend tournaments to support her friends or watch her boyfriend, who is a professional tennis player.

She wrote on Instagram, “Most of my friends ae part of the tennis world and suddenly I can’t even go and watch them play or support them the way I’ve always been used to. My boyfriend is also a professional tennis player, so tennis is naturally a big part of both our lives.

“But because of my ban, I can’t go to his tournaments to support him, not even as a regular spectator without accreditation. And because we want to spend as much time together as possible, I still travel with him. But while he’s playing, I’m sitting in a hotel room watching his matches on a screen, instead of being there by the court cheering him on.

“Something that’s completely normal for everyone else has suddenly become impossible for me. I cried at the first tournament I traveled to with him after my ban. It was hard being so close to something that had been such a huge part of my entire life, but not being able to be part of it anymore. And it’s moments like these that make you realize how much a ban affects not just your career, but also your personal life and the people closest to you.”

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A post shared by Markéta Vondroušová (@marketavondrousova)

Stubbs believes Vondrousova acted foolishly, particularly by initially claiming she feared for her safety when the doping officer arrived at her flat, only to later meet the officer while walking her dog and signed a form acknowledging her refusal to take the test.

However, the Australian thinks the conditions of her ban are heavy-handed, quipping that Vondrousova – who added that it hurts to be called a “doper – may as well be in “jail”.

She said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, “Straight up, she f***** up. She put things out on text that she probably regrets; she didn’t handle things well. Do I think she is a performance enhancer? Absolutely not. In my opinion, there could not be a person further away doing anything like that. No chance.

“Now she’s saying it’s really hard for her because she’s dating a tennis player; she can’t go and watch him, she has to stay in the hotel room; she can’t even go and support him. She can’t go to practice courts. She is not allowed to be on the grounds.

“She can not go to a tennis centre and hit tennis balls. I just think that’s ridiculous, I’m sorry. You might as well put her in jail. Come on, guys. What are we doing here?”

Stubbs added that she felt “sorry” for Vondrousova when she read how the ban massively clamps down on her tennis life.