You would think that when a player as iconic and talented as Serena Williams returns from maternity leave that she would be welcomed back with overwhelming respect. But unfortunately, you would be wrong.
Yass we can.
Although Williams was ranked the No.1 tennis player before she left the tour in January 2017, the French Open has decided not to seed her in the upcoming tournament. It’s made it clear that the Women’s Tennis Association needs new rules to protect mothers.
Apparently officials think it’s appropriate to go off her current ranking, which dropped to No. 453… because she was busy having a baby. Yes, even the greatest athlete of our time (don’t @ me) is copping a career hit for taking maternity leave.
Superstars: they’re just like us!
For anyone who needs a refresher, ‘seeding’ is basically planting players strategically across the tournament brackets so that the top dogs don’t meet (and knock each other out) until later in the competition. By convention, the seeds are sorted according to the player’s world ranking, but the final decision and any special considerations are in the hands of the tournament officials.
French Open officials could have opted to honour Williams’ status and seed her higher (not necessarily at No. 1), but instead there’s a chance that the 23-time Grand Slam singles winner will be squaring off with other top players in the early rounds.
I mean, Serena Williams has literally won the French Open more than any other currently active female player, but sure, let’s not acknowledge that she’s one of the most talented athletes in the world and let’s not take her seriously as a threat on the court. That seems fair.
The backlash against the French Open and the lack of WTA regulations to protect women from this situation has seen other big names in tennis pipe up in Williams’ defence.
“I would like to see that [rule] change,”commented Maria Sharapova.
“[Pregnancy and childbirth is] such an incredible effort for a woman to come back from physically, emotionally.”
The current top-ranked player, Simona Halep, also expressed her disapproval, saying “It’s normal to give birth. It’s normal to have protected ranking. … It’s more than tennis.”
In the wake of the controversy, The Women’s Tennis Association has stated that it’s considering changing the rules to protect the seedings for highly ranked players returning from maternity leave, but that wouldn’t take effect until next year at best.
In the meantime, the French Open draw will be made on Thursday, with the tournament starting on Sunday.
Tennis authorities seriously need to step up so that female players’ hard work isn’t essentially erased for taking maternity leave.
