Serena Williams targeted as Wimbledon branded a ‘disgrace’ in attack | Tennis | Sport
Wimbledon’s decision to let Serena Williams play has been slammed (Image: Getty)
Serena Williams’ comeback at Wimbledon has been ripped apart in a blistering attack from a Grand Slam-winning coach. Calvin Betton sensationally claimed that Williams ‘is not a serious tennis player’ and said it’s a ‘disgrace’ that she’s playing on Centre Court as he slammed Wimbledon and the tennis legend just hours ahead of her return.
Williams is set to make her long-awaited return to SW19 on Tuesday, where she will face Australia’s Maya Joint. The 44-year-old, who received a wildcard entry, has not competed in singles professionally since the 2022 US Open, with Williams herself admitting to nerves ahead of her highly anticipated comeback.
While public reaction to Williams’ return has been largely enthusiastic, with supporters thrilled at the prospect, Grand Slam-winning coach Betton has hit out at Wimbledon‘s decision to hand the 23-time Grand Slam champion a place in the draw, nearly three years after her last major appearance.
Speaking on the Tennis Unfiltered podcast, Betton suggested that Williams’ wildcard invitation could open the floodgates for tournaments to begin featuring celebrities such as Jake Paul.
“I don’t think you can be doing stuff like this,” said Betton, who coaches former Wimbledon and Australian Open doubles champions Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara.
“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?
“I don’t think it would be that by the way, that’s me greatly exaggerating it, but what if one of the tournaments now says we would love to have Roger Federer playing and are willing to pay him millions? What if another tournament does the same with Rafael Nadal? It could get a bit silly.
Serena Williams will face Maya Joint on Tuesday at Wimbledon (Image: Getty)
“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 and I want to see how well I can do’ then I would be much more sympathetic to it and I would even back it.
“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.”
Williams made her comeback earlier this month, competing in the doubles at WTA 500 events at Queen’s and in Berlin. Despite not playing a singles match for four years, the seven-time Wimbledon winner is unsurprisingly making her return on Centre Court.
Speaking before the Wimbledon schedule was confirmed, Betton claimed it would be a ‘disgrace’ if she were put on the main showcourt. “This is my biggest problem with it. We keep hearing that she wants to come back and win – but she doesn’t want to win enough to stay around,” he added.
“I suspect this return will just be for Wimbledon, the US Open and a couple of the Masters events, that’s it. And that’s where I have a problem because this is not a serious tennis professional and we’re giving them wildcards into the Wimbledon draw.
“I think they need to put her on Court Two or something, I don’t think you can put her on Centre, there’s just too many big names. She’s not a serious tennis player, she’s a retired tennis player.
“If so you might have to bump someone like Elena Rybakina off to Court Two, a former winner and the world number two. I don’t think you can put someone on Centre Court who hasn’t played a singles tennis match in four years and is 44 years old.
“It would be a disgrace. It would be a disgrace if they do. That tournament can’t be taken seriously if that happens. She probably will play on Centre Court purely for a safety thing, but I don’t think she should be and I don’t think it’s reasonable to the other players.”
