Serena Williams' rivals support her receiving the No. 1 seed for the French Open.getty images
French Open organizers "will not give Serena Williams a seeding for her return to grand slam tennis following maternity leave," according to Andrew Dampf of the AP. The FFT said, “This year again, tournament officials will establish the list and ranking of the women’s seeds based on the WTA ranking. Consequently, [the seeds] will reflect this week’s world ranking.” Williams, a three-time French Open champion, "is expected to play in her first major since giving birth to her daughter in September." Williams can enter Roland Garros under the WTA’s protected or “special” ranking rule, but "it’s up to grand slam organisers to give her a seed." The decision comes despite several of Williams' "biggest rivals" saying the 23-time Grand Slam champion "deserves more than just a guaranteed spot" in the French Open draw. Williams "should also receive a top seed" that befits the No. 1 ranking she held when she left the tour, the players said. The WTA Tour said that it is "considering a rule change to add protected seeding for highly-ranked players returning from maternity leave," but the "earliest that could take effect is next year." Maria Sharapova said, "I would like to see that change. It's such an incredible effort for a woman to come back from physically, emotionally ... There's just another whole dimension to the travel, to the experiences, to the emotions, to the physicality of every single day. Tennis is such a selfish sport but I think when there's a child in your life you lose a little bit of that, because there's something that's so much more important. So yeah, I definitely think that would be a nice change." The French Tennis Federation (FFT) "did not respond to a request for comment." Simona Halep: "It's normal to give birth to a kid. It's normal to have protected ranking ... It's more than tennis. So the people will decide what seed she will get." Current rules covering maternity leave and injuries allow a protected or "special" ranking to be utilized for entry into tournaments, "but not for seeding purposes," regardless of the reason for a player's absence (AP, 5/22).
