When Maria Sharapova, current World No. 1 Simona Halep, and World no. 4 Elina Svitolina voiced their support for Serena Williams to have a seeded spot at French Open when she returned to the game following the birth of her first child, some tennis fans were skeptical.
“Oh, they just don’t want to face Serena in earlier rounds,” or “What a good PR move” were some of the reactions that I observed after the comments from the two players were circulated in social media.
Yes, Halep is currently 1-8 against the 23-time Grand Slam champion and, yes, Svitolina was 1-4 against Serena.
Sharapova, who perhaps will never redeem herself in the eyes of Serena’s fans no matter what she says at this point considering a long-time feud with her nemesis, iss even worse at 2-19.
While Serena had only played two tournaments in 2018, that included a straight-set loss to newcomer Naomi Osaka in Indian Wells, I believe tennis fans are familiar with her ability to impress us even when things probably not going her way.
In 2007, unseeded and ranked as low as #81, Serena won the Australian Open (demolishing Sharapova, at the time reigning US Open champion, in the final).
So, of course, for these players, not facing Serena in the earlier rounds would probably be the best for their own careers.
However, what Sharapova, Halep, and Svitolina did by supporting Serena was actually a breath of fresh air that people should embrace instead of pitting them against each other.
Let’s compare the current situation with Serena, who returned to tennis after taking time off for pregnancy and childbirth, with what happened in 1993–when Monica Seles, then World No. 1, was stabbed by a deranged fan of Steffi Graf in a tournament in Hamburg, Germany.
Following the tragedy, none of the WTA players were supportive when there was a suggestion to freeze Seles’ No. 1 ranking. In fact, when they were asked to vote, only one player (Gabriela Sabatini) abstained (according to Seles’ autobiography), while others voted against preserving her ranking.
Seles was injured, yes, but it was against her will and not natural. Where was the sympathy from others back then?
Serena’s decision to come back so early after her childbirth is arguably instrumental in making more and more people put their focus on improving rules for women who want to have family and give birth in the Tour.
I wish the situation was the same when Lindsay Davenport returned after pregnancy in 2007 or Kim Clijsters in 2009 (although Clijsters actually retired in 2007 and therefore her case was arguably different), or even more recently Victoria Azarenka who took maternity leave in 2016 and was then engaged in a custody battle.
At the time, WTA players and maternity leave were not so widely discussed.
Serena Willams is perhaps the greatest female athlete to make a return after difficult childbirth in the history of tennis (and sports in general), and it is refreshing to see these discussions in mainstream media.
Therefore, the support from other WTA players is something that should be celebrated—-not met with skepticism.
