Wimbledon 2018: Serena Williams To Be Seeded By All England Club

Serena Williams has been named the 25th seed for Wimbledon which takes place from July 2 to 15 next month. The decision was announced Wednesday by the All England Club after a meeting took place the previous day.

The American being seeded for events has been a major talking point ever since her return to competitive action in March.

Because she took maternity leave as the top-ranked women's singles player following her win in the 2017 Australian Open, Williams received a protected No. 1 ranking that allowed her to enter events despite her current 183 ranking.

However, she remained unseeded in the three events she has taken part in, increasing the probability of her facing top opposition early on in tournaments as while organizers could give her a seeding as an exception, they usually follow the WTA rankings in determining the seeds.

There have since been many calls for rule changes, particularly before the French Open last month and ahead of Wimbledon next week, as Williams only took time away from tennis because of her pregnancy rather than injury or just falling out of love with the game.

"I think and I hope -- and it should be under review -- to change these rules. Maybe not in time for me, but for the next person," Williams recently said. "Maybe she's 25 and she wants to have a baby, but she doesn't want her career to be over. She wants to continue to play. So I think it's important to have those rules reviewed."

With the 36-year-old now being seeded though at least for this event, it is a big step forward for women's tennis as she has a real chance of winning not only her ninth Wimbledon title but equaling Margeret Court's record of 24 Grand Slams.

Her coach Patrick Mouratoglou earlier this month believed she could make a deep run at SW19, based on her performances at the French Open.

"I think so [on Williams going far]. On that level, Roland Garros was fantastic because she started not competing great because she had not competed for so long," he explained. "But after the first set of second match the real Serena popped out."

"I think she is competitive, her level and fitness is back. Plus at Wimbledon she will have the small advantage because she has the serve, which can take her out of bad situations," he said.

One player who will not be happy is Dominika Cibulkova however, as she will now miss out on a seeding given her rank of 32.

"I don't think it's the right thing to do," she said before the decision to seed Williams. "I think it's just not fair. I have tried and I should be seeded. If they put her in front of me then I will lose my spot that I am supposed to have."

"I was a former number four, and it's also like why should I not be seeded if I have the right to be?" she said.