Wimbledon has faced severe criticism after awarding Serena Williams a singles wildcard and placing her return match on Centre Court, with Grand Slam-winning coach Calvin Betton calling the decision 'a disgrace' and questioning the tournament's credibility.
Wildcard controversy erupts
Williams, 44, was handed a wildcard to compete in women's singles at Wimbledon, despite not being included on the initial list of singles wildcards. The seven-time champion accepted the invitation after the final spot was left unfilled. She will face Australia's Maya Joint on Tuesday on Centre Court, following defending champion Iga Swiatek and British hopeful Jack Draper.
Williams has played only two doubles matches since her competitive return earlier this month, after four years away from the sport. She retired in 2022, one short of Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam titles.
Coach Betton slams decision
Calvin Betton, who coaches Wimbledon and Australian Open champions Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara, voiced strong objections on the Tennis Unfiltered podcast. 'I don't think you can be doing stuff like this,' Betton said. '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?'
Betton argued that Williams is not a serious competitor. '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: '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. 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.'
Centre Court placement under fire
Before the order of play was confirmed, Betton warned against placing Williams on Centre Court. 'You can't logistically put her on Centre Court, I don't think. There's enough other big names in the game. Again, I'll stress it, this is a 44-year-old who hasn't played a singles tennis match in four years.'
He suggested Court Two as a more appropriate venue. '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.'
Other critics and supporters
Tennis broadcaster George Bellshaw also questioned the wildcard, saying: 'To be consistent with our previous wildcard conversations by the way, 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.'
However, Novak Djokovic, chasing a record 25th Grand Slam and an eighth Wimbledon title, praised Williams' return as 'inspirational and epic'. 'What she's doing is inspirational and it's epic,' Djokovic said. '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, not just for her own satisfaction but also to give all of us a pleasure of seeing her back on the court – in singles as well as doubles – is remarkable.'
Djokovic added: 'I see her in the gym more than I have, I think, seen her when she was at her prime. It tells me that she really wants this to work out the best way possible. It's admirable, honestly, the effort she's putting in. Of course, all eyes are on her comeback. I just hope that she will enjoy because she really deserves. She created something historical, legendary in her career. She deserves every applause she's going to get.'
