Serena Williams, Roger Federer to Be Unranked for the First Time in 25 Years

Serena Williams walked out of the circuit last year because of an injury she incurred at Wimbledon. Now, after a year, she picked her game from where she left and played her first match on 28th June.

However, she failed to leave an impact on the tournament and packed her bags in the very first round. Because of which she will face consequences as soon as the tournament ends. Unfortunately, her run would not have helped her in terms of ranking, as the Grand Salm doesn’t offer any ranking points, Williams will join Roger Federer and walk out of the ranked status after Wimbledon’s finale.

Serena Williams and Roger Federer’s career lowest

Both the former World No.1s will be thrown out of the ranking table on the Monday that follows Wimbledon’s second week. Federer, the oldest quarterfinalist of the tournament, didn’t take part in the event. Williams, the seven times victor of the championship, took part and failed to secure a seat in the second round. However, the results are same for the 40-year-olds. They will be unranked for the first time since 1997 this season.

Williams entered the top 20 of WTA after claiming victory in Scottsdale in 1997. Following that, in 1999, she cracked the top 4 by winning her first US Open title. Thus, this year’s unranking will mark an end to her 25 year long streak.

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Though Williams would have evaded the situation if the tournament was not stripped off ranking points. The Wimbledon Championship faced the same as a counteraction to its decision of banning players from Russia and Belarus. The ATP stripped Wimbledon of ranking points for not acting host to and snatching opportunities out of high caliber players such as World No.1 Daniil Medvedev’s hand.

The change that Williams brought

Serena Williams is one of the most successful players in the history of tennis. Further, she is an asset to the grass swing, as she has seven Grand Slam titles of grass under her name. Therefore, what happened last year at Wimbledon called for immediate action.

Williams, while playing on the untouched center court, slipped and incurred a hamstring injury. Overlooking a problem which caused the 23 times Grand Slam champion a career year and form was never an option for the organizers. Hence, after much debate, they agreed to change their strict rules around the main arena.

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The Wimbledon, after receiving major outlash, opened the centre court for practice sessions. They did this so that the court loses some moisture and provides a better grip. Thus avoiding major injuries.