Serena Williams' return to Wimbledon has been met with a blistering attack from Grand Slam-winning coach Calvin Betton, who branded the decision to give her a wildcard a 'disgrace' and claimed the 23-time Grand Slam winner 'is not a serious tennis player'. Betton's comments came just hours before Williams was scheduled to play her first singles match in nearly four years on Centre Court.
Wildcard decision sparks outrage
Williams, 44, received a wildcard entry to Wimbledon 2026, marking her first singles appearance since the 2022 US Open. She is set to face Australia's Maya Joint on Tuesday. While many fans have welcomed her return, Betton, who coaches Wimbledon and Australian Open doubles champions Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara, criticised the All England Club's decision.
Speaking on the Tennis Unfiltered podcast, Betton argued that the wildcard could set a dangerous precedent. 'I don't think you can be doing stuff like this,' he said. 'Isn't it a gateway drug to getting people like Jake Paul in there? He would put bums on seats and give tournaments some marketing reach... Where's all this leading?'
Concerns over tournament credibility
Betton suggested that if Williams' wildcard becomes a trend, tournaments might start inviting other retired legends for promotional purposes. 'What if one of the tournaments now says we would love to have Roger Federer playing and are willing to pay him millions? What if another tournament does the same with Rafael Nadal? It could get a bit silly,' he added.
He contrasted Williams' situation with a hypothetical serious comeback: 'If she was coming back and saying, 'I'm having a run at this, my intention is to get back to the top of the rankings and I want to see how well I can do' then I would be much more sympathetic to it and I would even back it. But we're giving a wildcard to someone who's not seriously trying to compete at tennis anymore and instead it's purely for promotional reasons.'
Placement on Centre Court criticised
Williams, a seven-time Wimbledon champion, was scheduled to play on Centre Court. Before the schedule was confirmed, Betton had warned that putting her on the main showcourt would be a 'disgrace'. 'I suspect this return will just be for Wimbledon, the US Open and a couple of the Masters events, that's it. And that's where I have a problem because this is not a serious tennis professional and we're giving them wildcards into the Wimbledon draw,' he said.
He added: 'I think they need to put her on Court Two or something, I don't think you can put her on Centre, there's just too many big names. She's not a serious tennis player, she's a retired tennis player. If so you might have to bump someone like Elena Rybakina off to Court Two, a former winner and the world number two. I don't think you can put someone on Centre Court who hasn't played a singles tennis match in four years and is 44 years old. It would be a disgrace. It would be a disgrace if they do. That tournament can't be taken seriously if that happens.'
Williams' comeback journey
Williams made her competitive return earlier in the month, playing doubles at WTA 500 events at Queen's and in Berlin. She admitted to feeling nervous ahead of her Wimbledon singles comeback. Despite the criticism, the tennis legend remains a major draw for fans and media alike, with her every move closely followed.
