Serena Williams will be seeded No. 25 at Wimbledon after the All England Club elevated her ranking after she had a baby, but not everybody in the WTA is happy with the decision.
Slovakian world No. 32 Dominika Cibulkova was bumped from the seeding. Cibulkova, who has reached the tournament’s quarterfinals twice, can now be selected to face anyone from the main draw in the first round.
“I don’t think it’s the right thing to do,” Cibulkova told the BBC before the seedings were released. “I think it’s just not fair. I have tried and I should be seeded. If they put her in front of me then I will lose my spot that I am supposed to have.”
Williams, who gave birth to her first baby in September, is ranked No. 183. The seven-time tournament champion dropped out of the French Open before a fourth-round match with Maria Sharapova because of pain in her right pectoral muscle.
The tennis great said earlier this week that pregnancy should not be penalized when it comes to tournament seeding.
“They never took into account women that left No. 1,” Williams told an audience at a charity event with Allstate Foundation Purple Purse. “And left not for an injury, but to have a great life and not give up tennis, but to come back.”
The Wimbledon seeding committee made no other changes from the WTA rankings in picking the top 32.
The London slam has considered factors other than world ranking in the past, and the US Open announced Saturday it wouldn’t penalize female players who were returning after pregnancy in seeding them.
As the 25th seed, Williams will face one of the top eight seeds if she makes it to the third round. The draw will be selected Friday, and the tournament starts Monday.
Players and tennis officials have been divided over whether new moms should get protected seeding in grand slams when they return. Caroline Wozniacki, John McEnroe and USTA president Katrina Adams have spoken out in support of Williams.
It is not the first time Cibulkova has been outspoken about issues on the tour. She went the hardest after Sharapova while the Russian was suspended over a positive drug test, calling her “arrogant, conceited and cold.”