Back in 2018, Serena Williams returned to the tennis court as a mother for the first time. Her long absence made her slip to the WTA rank of 183. However, she still got 25th seed in the Wimbledon championships that year. As per the new WTA rule, women returning after a maternity leave only have their tournament status protected – not their actual seed, and placement in a tournament. It became a major talking point. People also questioned if it is fair for the players to lose their ranks due to maternity leave. Former tennis star Andre Agassi also gave his reaction about the same.
Agassi reacts to Serena Williams’ ranking debate.
Avoiding making any comment on the maternity leave, the eight-time Grand Slam champion stuck to the point that ranking won’t make it any different for a player in the tournament.
What did Agassi say?
“This is a decision made with full respect to a lot of considerations. One thing I can say on her behalf, that she may hopefully agree with. She’s here to win. What she’s seeded is not going to determine her winning this event,” Agassi said.
Agassi had more to add.
He further added, “Will you get an easier draw? Maybe one or two rounds, but I got news for ya. The rest of the field is more worried about her being about not seeded than she is.”
Serena has no Grand Slam titles as a mother.
Serena defeated her sister Venus Williams in the final of the Australian Openin 2017 while she was pregnant. This had her fans assured that the legend will definitely make a strong comeback after childbirth. However, Serena never won another Grand Slam title after that.