The All England Club will debate whether or not to give Serena Williams a special seeding at Wimbledon after officials gave a mixed response about the topic.
On Tuesday the tournament held their annual spring press conference, which outlines the plans for the grand slam. During the session, confusion erupted over the current status of the 36-year-old and if she was eligible to be seeded. Wimbledon Chairman Philip Brook and CEO Richard Lewis both refrained from giving a set answer.
At first it appeared to be a no after Lewis told BBC Sport that it would be ‘unlikely’ that seven-time champion Williams would be seeded in the draw. The tone taken by the All England Club changed later in the day when they released a statement saying that they have discretion to seed a player based on their rule book.
“The seeding order follows the WTA ranking list, except where in the opinion of the committee, a change is necessary to produce a balanced draw,” the club said.
The momentum continued to turn towards Williams’ favour. According to The Guardian, officials then held a transatlantic call with WTA boss Steve Simon concerning the matter. A conversation the strengthen the case for Williams to be seeded.
“It is reasonable to state that the committee would have the discretion to seed a player for the championships, regardless of [her] WTA ranking. This discussion [will] take place at the seedings meeting on 26 June.” A Wimbledon spokesperson told The Guardian.
Williams has only played two tournaments on the WTA Tour since returning from giving birth to her first child last September. At Indian Wells she reached the third round before losing to sister Venus. Then at the Miami Open she lost her opening match to Japan’s Naomi Osaka. A loss she hopes to make up for when she returns to action on the clay at next week’s Madrid Open.
“I feel like since Miami, I’ve made a ton of progress, but who knows,” Williams told The New York Times. “I’ll have to see when I get out there to play a match. I always have to be ready, but I have to be even more ready because who knows who I can play early, or first or second. So I really have to be super-super-ready, so that’s kind of what I’ve been working on.”
The Maternity debate
Since Williams return to the tour, some have called for the WTA rules to be changed for those that have been on maternity. Under current regulations, players are allowed special entries in tournaments after being away for a lengthy period. However, this rule is not applicable to seeding a player. Something that world No.1 Simona Halep questioned last month.
“I was thinking about Serena in this tournament (Indian Wells), and also we were talking a little bit with my coach (Darren Cahill). And I think she should have been actually No 1 seed in this tournament because she left as No 1 in the world.” she said.
Former player and Miami Open director James Blake also supports Halep’s statement. Telling the AFP that players ‘need to be supported’ whilst on Maternity leave. In contrast Many Minella, who recently became a mum for the first time, told BBC Sport that the current rules should remain as they are.
“For entertainment reasons, it’s very important to have Serena Williams in the draw, but I don’t think it’s important to have her in the seeding positions at the moment,” Minella told the BBC.
“She’s so good that she will get back to the top, so the rule should stay as it is.
“If seeded now, she would take away the spot of another girl who had fought all year to have a seeding, so it’s a tricky situation.”
No such luck for Andy Murray
Despite the prospect that Williams could be ranked out of the top 100 and still be seeded, Andy Murray will not have the same luxury. The two-time champion at SW19 has to work himself up the rankings to secure a seeding. Unlike the women’s game, men’s seeds are calculated to only take into account a players record in grass-court tournaments. Other factors, such as injury, are not counted.
Should he failed to be seeded, there is a possibility that Murray could play either Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal in the first round. He is currently ranked 39th in the world.
