Wimbledon draw shapes up nicely for Serena Williams

Serena Williams faces an easier path at Wimbledon than she did at the French Open.

The draw was released on Friday and the seven-time champ has to like her chances.

Seeded 25th, Williams’ first real challenge figures to come against No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina in the third round.

Though Williams’ world ranking is only 183rd, tournament officials took into account her past success and the fact she missed a year on tour due to giving birth to her first child in September.

Williams opens play against Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands, who is ranked 107th and hasn’t won a match at Wimbledon since 2012.

Next up would be the winner of Viktoriya Tomova and Tereza Smitkova, ranked Nos. 136 and 167 respectively.

Madison Keys (fourth round), Caroline Wozniacki (quarters) and Venus Williams (semis) are also potential opponents.

Simona Halep, the world No. 1, is the tournament’s top seed and could face No. 8 seed Petra Kvitova, a two-time winner here, in the quarters. Defending champion Garbine Muguruza, seeded third, lines up for a quarterfinal showdown with sixth-seeded Caroline Garcia.

On the men’s side, Roger Federer is the top seed and could face eighth-seeded Kevin Anderson in the quarters, while Rafael Nadal, who took over the world No. 1 ranking this week, is seeded second and could wind up facing fifth-seeded Juan Martin del Potro in the same round. A potential quarterfinal foe for third seed Marin Cilic is No. 6 Grigor Dimitrov, while fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev faces a potential quarterfinal clash with Dominic Thiem, seeded seventh.

After the uproar over Williams not being seeded at the French Open, the U.S. Open announced it will also update its seeding policy to take into account a player returning from a pregnancy, according to United States Tennis Association president Katrina Adams.

“It’s the right thing to do for these mothers that are coming back,” Adams told the New York Times in a telephone interview last week.

Williams, who was ranked No. 1 in the world when she ceased playing after winning the 2017 Australian Open, now barely cracks the top 200. She gave birth to her daughter Alexis in September and returned to play in March at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

She played well at the French Open before being forced to withdraw due to a pectoral injury.

Grand Slam events generally award seeds based on rankings, which aren’t protected for injuries or pregnancy in the WTA.

–Field Level Media