Serena William's emotional return to the All England Club has been the feel-good first-week story at Wimbledon, as the 13-time Grand Slam champ steps back into competitive play after a yearlong hiatus. But one has to wonder: why would a former No. 1 and four-time Wimbledon titlist be relegated to the hardly-center-stage, 4,000-seat Court 2? The same goes for her sister, Venus, a five-time Wimbledon titlist. Sure, Serena's only a No. 7 seed; Venus is at No. 23. But both players have certainly earned the right to appear on Centre Court or Court 1, haven't they? You wouldn't see Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Andy Murray exiled there. So what gives? Should we read into this?
“I don't know,” said Serena of the snub. “They like to put us on Court 2, me and Venus, for whatever reason. I haven't figured it out yet. Maybe one day we'll figure it out. I don't know…Obviously they're not going to change.”
“I don't make it a big issue,” added Williams, who moved into the third round with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 win over Romania's Simona Halep. “I think at some point maybe I should. I don't know. I just really try to focus on not going down on Court 2. At least now they have a review out there, so I do like that. It was much better than the old one that was actually closer. I really hated that court.”
And for good reason. She has some bad memories of the old Court 2, aka “The Graveyard,” which was rebuilt in 2009. That's where she lost in the third round to fellow American Jill Craybas in 2005.
“I don't think it's anything deliberate, clearly,” said tournament spokesperson Johnny Perkins of the scheduling process. “It's a hugely complex jigsaw puzzle. Everyone probably looks at it from their own point of view, so she's obviously quite entitled to.”
