French Open: Serena and Venus Williams start in doubles

Former world number one Serena Williams will compete with her sister Venus in the double competition at her Grand Slam comeback at the French Open starting on Sunday in Paris.

As the tournament organizer confirmed on Thursday, the Americans accepted a wildcard.

Together, the Williams sisters have already won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles and three Olympic gold medals. Their last doubles match at a major tournament was played by Serena and Venus in Wimbledon in 2016.

23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams is planning the first major start in Roland Garros since the end of her 13-month baby break. Because the 36-year-old is not seeded, even Ivanka Trump spoke on Thursday. US President Donald Trump’s daughter called the WTA’s decision “ridiculous”.

“Serena is a great player and a loving mother. Nobody should be punished for having a child,” Trump wrote on Twitter. Since Williams has dropped to 453rd place in the world rankings, she has not been included in the seed list of the top 32 players.

The female players’ organisation WTA is currently discussing adding top players to the seed lists on their return after pregnancy. However, the new regulation could not come into force until 2019 at the earliest. Halep and five-time Russian Grand Slam winner Maria Sharapova recently spoke out in favour of the change.