Darren Cahill has criticized Serena Williams’ lack of a settlement at the WTA tournament in Indian Wells. The coach of the world number one Simona Halep called for greater protection for women players who return to the tour after giving birth.
“This match should not take place in a third round,”twittered Cahill on Monday,”Serena should be protected by the WTA like all other mothers and be allowed to use her Protected Ranking for the seed list.”
Although Serena Williams was automatically qualified for the Indian Wells main draw thanks to her Protected Ranking, she had already met a seeded player in the second round with Kiki Bertens. In round three, the Sister Act with Venus Williams came, which Serena clearly lost in two sets.
The ladies should not be punished for giving birth by starting from scratch,”the Australian wrote.
Simona Halep couldn’t agree with her coach either,”She should be on the one as she was there in the standings when she left the tour,”said the Romanian.”In these eight tournaments, where she is allowed to use the Protected Ranking, I think she should definitely be top seeded.”
Halep and her coach went to the Indian Wells Tennis Gardens again on Monday evening to watch the Williams sisters’ duel live. She may be the world’s number one, Halep said, but she had seen “the best player in the world” and it was fun to watch the match. I can still learn a lot from the two of them,”said the 26-year-old.