Last week it was confirmed that Serena Williams would appear in this year’s French Open unseeded, in her first Grand Slam since having a baby in September 2017.
Entering Roland Garros without a seeding means that Williams risks facing top-seeded players in the early rounds, which is sort of like coming back to work from maternity leave to find your desk is now where your colleagues store their unwanted items and dirty gym clothes, and your computer has been given to the new intern.
Like any new mum returning to work Williams is finding out the hard way that she's got to prove herself all over again.
It's apparently not enough that she's the Greatest Of All Time. It's not enough that she has won 23 Gland Slam titles (more than Roger Federer) or .
Rules are rules, , who explained woman’s seeds were based on the WTA ranking.
Currently, Williams is ranked number 453 in the world, having taken a 14-month break from tennis to care for her daughter, Alexis Olympia, not to mention recover from a —a potentially fatal complication during childbirth.
While Williams could have entered the tournament under the WTA’s “special ranking rule", it was up to the event organisers to give her a seed. According to , the WTA are considering a rule change to add protected seeding for highly ranked players returning from maternity leave, but it won’t be happening this year. Many have criticised the decision to not give Williams—the former World Number 1—a ranking.
“I would like to see that [rule] change,'' said. "It's such an incredible effort for a woman to come back from physically, emotionally. ... There's just another whole dimension to the travel, to the experiences, to the emotions to the physicality of every single day.”
Current World number 1, Simona Halep, also weighed in. “It’s normal to give birth. It’s normal to have protected ranking…It’s more than tennis. So the people will decide what seed she will get. But in my opinion it’s good to protect the ranking when it comes to giving birth.”
People took to Twitter (including Ivanka Trump) to criticise the decision, and there has even been a petition called “ circulating.
I probably wouldn’t go as far as say she has been punished for having a baby, but protecting the ranking of Williams, one of the major drawcards of the tournament should have been a no-brainer for tournament organisers, as fans eagerly await her first grand slam appearance since giving birth.
Even her fellow competitors are excited. “I think it’s so nice to have her back,” said “I think it's always great to have the best players play, and it raises your level. You have to play your best level, and I think, you know, having someone like Serena back, it's keeping us all on our toes and we have to keep improving all the time."
When you think of the greatest athletes of all time, Serena Williams ranks up with some of the best. In fact, there are few sports stars, male or female who match her achievements. Not only has she overcome adversity she’s had a career longevity that few can boast—she won her first grand slam at just 17, defeating Martina Hingis at the 1999 US Open and became in history to win a Grand Slam singles tournament in the process.
At 36, Williams has changed the perception of what female tennis players can do. Her sheer strength on court makes her one of the most exciting players to watch.
Williams deserves the time to find her form. To see an early knock out for the G.O.A.T. would be a huge loss for the tournament, so all eyes will be on her first round match against 70th-ranked Kristyna Pliskova on Tuesday.
