June 21, (THEWILL) – In the release of the players to feature at the 2022 Wimbledon event at the All England Club, Serena Williams has been included to compete, although she will enter as an unseeded wild card.
After a year away from the sport, the seedings for the men’s and women’s brackets were published on Tuesday, and Williams, as expected, did not receive a seed. She has not played competitive tennis since quitting in the first round of Wimbledon last year, which dropped her to number 1,223 in the world.
On the men’s side of the tournament, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are the number one and two seeds, respectively.
However, the All England Club banned Russian and Belarusian players from competing at Wimbledon this year due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Therefore, Daniil Medvedev, the world’s top-ranked player, is not eligible to compete. Alexander Zverev, the world number two player, pulled out due to an ankle injury and will not compete.
The tournament draws will take place on Friday, a day that might be crucial for Williams as she attempts to reclaim her major title form that has seen her dominate the sport for years. Her wild-card status will also likely scare seeded opponents, who will aim to escape the 23-time Grand Slam winner in the first round.
Fortunately for Nadal and Djokovic, they are not due to face each other except if both reach the finals as they were seeded first and second.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
