Help for Serena but no such luck for Andy
WIMBLEDON TO GIVE WILLIAMS A SEEDING
SERENA Williams may languish at No 449 in the world rankings, but Wimbledon may well offer her a form of maternity leave by giving her a protected seeding this year.
While Andy Murray will be at the mercy of the draw as a non seed — assuming he plays at all — the All England Club will be able to take into account that his fellow 2016 champion has won the title seven times.
At its spring unveiling, Wimbledon scrambled to examine the rulebook in regard to Williams’s clearly false position in the rankings, following the birth of her daughter last September.
A few hours later, clarification came that it would be at the discretion of the tournament committee whether to seed her or not, in order ‘to produce a balanced draw’.
It is different for the men in that there is a firm rule that nobody outside the top 32 entrants can be shuffled around in the seedings. There is no chance that Murray will be ranked high enough by then.
The women’s rulebook has looser wording which is open to interpretation, and few would disagree that Williams deserves a privileged place in the draw.
While there is a strong argument for the regulations on men and women to be unified, the American’s profile has ensured debate about whether privileges should be given to someone who has taken time out for childbirth.
Williams argued her case in a recent New York Times interview, saying: ‘ You shouldn’t have to wait to have a baby until you retire. If you want to have a baby and take a few months off or a year off, then come back, you shouldn’t be penalised. Pregnancy is not an injury.’
We wait to see how she shapes up on the court, with her next tournament expected to be the Italian Open starting on May 14.
Murray’s position is less clear, with updates on his hip condition deliberately vague. At one point he considered playing doubles with Scottish teenager Aidan McHugh at this week’s Glasgow Challenger, but that did not come to pass. Nor will his fans be especially reassured by him posting an enigmatic picture of himself painting at the weekend, rather than on the court or in the gym.
He does not seem to have been in evidence at Wimbledon recently, but the most accurate signpost of his comeback will be whether he accepts a wildcard into the Loughborough Challenger event, which begins on May 20.
In the event of Williams winning Wimbledon again she would receive £2.25million, the champion getting only a 2.3 per cent increase on a year ago. Overall prize-money is now £34m.
The biggest winners are firstround losers, up 11.4 per cent, with earnings of £39,000 guaranteed. Last year there was controversy when eight players retired mid-match in the opening round and Wimbledon does not want a repeat. So it will adopt the policy of giving any player who voluntarily makes a late withdrawal 50 per cent of first-round money, splitting it with the ‘lucky loser’ from qualifying who replaces them.
As the tournament unveiled new measures for this year’s tournament, there was confirmation of the Sportsmail report that serious moves are being made to acquire the freehold of neighbouring Wimbledon Park Golf Club, well ahead of the scheduled 2041 handover.
‘We have made an offer for the early surrender of the lease; that offer is being considered by the golf club’s board,’ said chairman Philip Brook. ‘ We are seeking clarity. Bringing Wimbledon qualifying on site is a priority for us.’
While Wimbledon rejected a ‘shot clock’ on court to monitor time taken between points, it has formally extended the time allowed to 25 seconds, while expecting umpires to properly enforce that.
There was a flat refusal to contemplate coaching from the sidelines, as seen at regular WTA Tour events. ‘In tennis you are on your own. We totally disagree with it,’ said chief executive Richard Lewis.
There will also be strict enforcement of a seven- minute gap between players walking on court and starting a match. There was the admission, too, that they are increasingly unhappy about the amount of time being wasted on toilet breaks and suspect oncourt medical visits.
Lewis cited potential litigation issues as he said: ‘It is a concern, it’s not easy to deal with. We have had discussions with people on the medical side.’
Of the fad for toilet breaks, he added: ‘It can be an issue and the word gamesmanship comes in.’