Wimbledon has faced strong criticism after granting Serena Williams a singles wildcard and scheduling her return on Centre Court, with Grand Slam-winning coach Calvin Betton branding the decision 'disgraceful' and questioning the tournament's seriousness.
Wildcard controversy
Serena Williams, 44, received a wildcard for the women's singles at Wimbledon, despite not being included on the initial list of singles wildcards. She will also play doubles with her sister Venus, 45. Williams has played only two doubles matches since her competitive return earlier this month after four years away from tennis. She retired in 2022, one Grand Slam short of Margaret Court's record of 24 titles.
Betton, who coaches former Wimbledon and Australian Open champions Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara, expressed strong doubts about Williams's intentions. 'I don't think you can be doing stuff like this,' Betton said on the Tennis Unfiltered podcast. 'Isn't it a gateway drug to getting people like Jake Paul in there? He would put bums on seats and give tournaments some marketing reach. Where's all this leading?'
Promotional concerns
Betton argued that Williams's return appears purely promotional. 'If she was coming back and saying, "I'm having a run at this, my intention is to get back to the top of the rankings" then I would be much more sympathetic. But we're giving a wildcard to someone who's not seriously trying to compete at tennis anymore and instead it's purely for promotional reasons.' He added: 'We keep hearing that she wants to come back and win – but she doesn't want to win enough to stay around. I suspect this return will just be for Wimbledon, the US Open and a couple of Masters events.'
Centre Court scheduling
Williams is scheduled last on Centre Court on Tuesday, following defending women's champion Iga Swiatek and British hopeful Jack Draper. Betton had earlier called such a move 'a disgrace'. 'You can't logistically put her on Centre Court. There's enough other big names in the game. This is a 44-year-old who hasn't played a singles tennis match in four years. If so you might have to bump someone like Elena Rybakina off to Court Two, a former winner and the world number two. That tournament can't be taken seriously if that happens.'
Tennis broadcaster George Bellshaw also questioned the wildcard but understood the decision. 'To be consistent with our previous wildcard conversations, I don't think she should get a singles Wimbledon wildcard from a playing perspective. I think that would be absolutely ridiculous. I think they absolutely will give her one though if she asks for it.'
Djokovic's support
Novak Djokovic, chasing a record 25th Grand Slam and eighth Wimbledon title, described Williams's return as 'inspirational and epic'. 'What she's doing is inspirational and it's epic. I always admired her career, her journey, her story. For her to come back after years of being absent from the tour, two children later, and to give so much effort is remarkable. I told her that whatever happens, what she's doing is truly inspirational for me personally, I'm sure for millions around the world. I see her in the gym more than I have seen her when she was at her prime. It tells me that she really wants this to work out the best way possible.'
