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Serena Williams and Wimbledon attacked as 'disgraceful' decision slammed

Serena Williams is set to make her return to Wimbledon on Tuesday but the seven-time champion's wildcard entry has been savaged by one Grand Slam-winning coach

[Serena Williams walking at Wimbledon 2026]

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Serena William's Wimbledon comeback has been heavily criticised by one decorated coach(Image: Getty)

Serena Williams' comeback at Wimbledon has been torn to shreds in a scathing critique from a Grand Slam-winning coach. Calvin Betton sensationally declared that Williams "is not a serious tennis player" and described it as a "disgrace" that she's appearing on Centre Court, as he lambasted Wimbledon and the tennis legend hours before her return.

Williams will sport a new look when she makes her return to SW19 on Tuesday, where she will take on Australia's Maya Joint. The 44-year-old, who was granted a wildcard entry, has not participated in singles professionally since the 2022 US Open, with Williams herself acknowledging her nerves ahead of her comeback.

The public response to Williams' return has been predominantly positive, with fans delighted at the possibility. But Grand Slam-winning coach Betton has lashed out at Wimbledon's choice to give the 23-time Grand Slam champion a spot in the draw, almost four years after her last major outing.

Speaking on the Tennis Unfiltered podcast, Betton argued Williams' wildcard invitation could pave the way for tournaments to start featuring celebrities such as Jake Paul: "I don't think you can be doing stuff like this."

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Betton, who coaches former Wimbledon and Australian Open doubles champions Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara, continued: "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?

"I don't think it would be that by the way, that's me greatly exaggerating it, but 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.

"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."

Williams made her much-anticipated return earlier this month, taking part in the doubles at WTA 500 events at Queen's and in Berlin. Despite having been absent from singles competition for four years, the seven-time Wimbledon champion is unsurprisingly staging her comeback on Centre Court.

[Serena Williams walking at Wimbledon 2026]

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Wimbledon have taken some heat for scheduling Williams' return on Centre Court(Image: Getty)

Speaking prior to the Wimbledon schedule being announced, Betton declared it would be a "disgrace" if she were placed on the main showcourt: "This is my biggest problem with it. We keep hearing that she wants to come back and win but she doesn't want to win enough to stay around.

"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.

"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.

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"If so you might have to bump someone like Elena Rybakina off to Court Two, a former winner and the world No 2. 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. She probably will play on Centre Court purely for a safety thing, but I don't think she should be and I don't think it's reasonable to the other players."

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