Williams must be seeded at Wimbledon, says McEnroe
Serena Williams deserves a seeding at Wimbledon, according to the threetime former champion John McEnroe, who said “I don’t think there would be a player that would complain”.
At the moment, Williams is entitled to a protected ranking after missing more than a year’s tennis because of the birth of her daughter Alexis Olympia. But the seeding question lies in the hands of the All England Club. It has a committee devoted to the subject, which will meet on Tuesday and deliver its verdict the following day.
When the subject came up at the AELTC’s spring press conference at the start of May, some club officials expressed private concerns that by seeding Williams, they would be unfairly relegating another player who had worked all year for her place among the top 32.
But when McEnroe was asked about the downsides of “de-seeding” the player in 32nd place in the pecking order, he shook his head. “What’s her name?” McEnroe replied. “No offence. You’re talking about Serena Williams. Our ratings on NBC, the day she played [against Kristyna Pliskova at the French Open last month], were 50 per cent more than it was a year ago. It’s like Tiger Woods when he came back. All of a sudden it’s top of the ratings.
“Forget the fact that she has won 23 majors and what she brings to the table. I’m sorry, I apologise to the 32nd player in the world. That’s just the way it goes sometimes. I just don’t think it’s right to think that way. That’s me coming from a different viewpoint.”
Williams has played only seven matches this year, but her French Open campaign was gathering impressive momentum before she withdrew from her blockbuster fourth-round meeting with old rival Maria Sharapova, citing an injury to her right pectoral.
On the back of seven Wimbledon titles, and the best serve the women’s sport has seen, Williams is second favourite with the bookies behind the 2011 and 2014 champion Petra Kvitova. So if she were to be seeded, what number should she be given? Kvitova was asked this question in Birmingham this week. After thinking it over for several seconds, she suggested ninth position.
McEnroe, who will be commentating on Wimbledon for the BBC, also tended towards the higher end of the scale. “Somewhere between one and 10, one and 16 at the worst,” he said. “I don’t think there would be a player that would complain, especially the top ones, if she was one of the top eight. Why in the world would they want to play her in the first, second, third round? Nor should they.”
McEnroe’s comments came as the US Open confirmed yesterday that it would treat new mothers as special cases, and help them out with seedings where appropriate. Katrina Adams, president of the United States Tennis Association, told the New York Times that women in this situation should not be “penalised” for starting a family. “We think it’s a good message,” Adams explained. “It’s OK to become a mother and then come back to your job.”