Wimbledon Admits to Showing Favoritism Toward Serena and Venus Williams: “They Are Massive Global Stars”

Serena Williams and Venus Williams were scheduled to play their first-round doubles match on Thursday (June 2). But they were not on the schedule for that day, and neither were they on Friday.

The Williams sisters, who are set to play their first match together since the 2022 US Open, will face Solana Sierra and Camila Osorio in the first round. They received the wild cards to feature in doubles, with Serena also being awarded a singles wild card.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion played her first singles match since the 2022 US Open on June 30. Up against her was Maya Joint, who, although she was successful in taking the first set off the tennis legend, couldn’t finish the match in straight sets. Williams forced the comeback in the second set but eventually lost.

She then chose not to sit for the press conference, and later it came to light that the 44-year-old suffered a knee injury during her singles match. There were doubts regarding her doubles participation.

The first-round doubles matches were scheduled to be completed on Thursday and Friday. But tournament director Jamie Baker admitted that he bent the rules to favor Serena so that she could recover well and compete in doubles.

We are giving her as much time [to be ready]. Obviously, we want her to play if she possibly can. In terms of the days, it’s a guideline. That’s what we’re hoping to do, based on trying to get the tournament finished. There are actually sometimes exceptional circumstances, like weather or injuries, or sometimes conflicts of players playing in two or three events. It doesn’t happen that often, but occasionally you do get the odd match that carries over.

Jamie Baker said (H/T: The Mirror)

Wimbledon is being accused of providing Serena with preferential treatment. Baker doesn’t seem to disagree that they are showing favoritism toward the Williams sisters.

Serena and Venus are massive global stars. A lot of people want to see them. It’s about a balance between all the different matches you have – it’s a bit of a jigsaw – and the show courts at the start of the week are definitely prioritized for the singles matches. We’ll see how it shapes up tomorrow.

Jamie Baker added

Although Serena suffered defeat in the first round in singles, the match drew a record 1.8 million viewers on ESPN. It was ESPN’s largest Day 2 audience and the most-watched first round ever on the network.

Novak Djokovic rushes to Serena Williams’ defense

After Serena Williams lost her first singles match, many in the tennis world wondered whether Wimbledon did the right thing by awarding her a wild card. But Novak Djokovic came to her defense and reminded all where she is in the stage of her career.

She’s 44. I mean, she has two children. Coming back, it’s normal that she still is not at her best in terms of movement. She hasn’t played a match, I mean, in so many years. People need to cool off a little bit with judgment and criticism and everything.

Novak Djokovic said at the press conference

The 24-time Major champion is convinced that Serena will not be content with just playing matches, and that she really wants to win them. He also hopes to see her compete in her home Major in New York.

Djokovic, chasing his eighth title at Wimbledon, will face Roman Safiullin in the fourth round. He overcame Arthur Rinderknech in four sets in the previous round. Djokovic has already played a Major final this year. At the Australian Open, after defeating Jannik Sinner, he lost the final to Carlos Alcaraz.

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