Strict Wimbledon rule blocked Serena Williams’ daughter from watching her comeback
Tennis fans had been waiting a long time to see Serena Williams back on the Wimbledon court, but a strict rule meant her daughter couldn't watch.
Williams, 44, a seven-time champion, received a standing ovation on Tuesday as she appeared on the iconic Wimbledon Centre Court to face Australian Maya Joint.
Unsurprisingly, she had a personal box for her loved ones to watch from, including her husband Alexis Ohanian and their two daughters, as well as sister Venus, who she will join for a doubles match this week.
Williams is mum to Alexis Olympia, eight, and Adira River, two, and when she last played a singles match in the 2022 US Open, her youngest daughter had not yet been born.
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The match against Ajla Tomljanovic was believed at the time to be her last, but she couldn't resist the call.
Unfortunately for little Adira, a strict Wimbledon rule meant she still hasn't seen her mother compete.
At Wimbledon, a strict age policy is enforced, which means children must be at least five years old to watch a match.
Williams previously told The Telegraph that one of the reasons she returned to tennis wasn't to win, but that so her children could watch her play and be inspired.
Adira will have to wait a while longer, as the rule meant she was required to leave before Williams started playing; however, her sister Olympia was allowed to stay and sat watching with her father.
Williams isn't the only one to fall foul of Wimbledon's strict rule, as during Andy Murray's final doubles match back in 2024 only two of his four children were allowed to watch.
Back in 2023, the Princess of Wales also revealed that her youngest son, Louis, was also very sad he was not allowed to attend.
“It’s Charlotte’s first time, George came last year," she told onlookers. "They’ve been eagerly watching. Charlotte you’ve been getting to grips with the scoring, haven’t you? Louis was very upset he wasn’t coming today.”
Despite her family's support, Williams didn't win the match, with Joint heading on to the second round.
She had recently opened up about using weight loss jabs to transform her body after having her two daughters, confessing she 'hadn't lost a pound' after Adira's arrival.
Speaking to People, she said she 'never was able to get to the weight I needed to be no matter what I did, no matter how much I trained'.
"I just thought, gosh, I don't know if I would ever be able to get back to where I needed to get to," ahead of her return to the sport.
"It was crazy because I'd never been in a place like that in my life where I worked so hard, ate so healthy and could never get down to where I needed to be at.
"I had never taken shortcuts in my career and always worked really hard. I know what it takes to be the best.
"So it was very frustrating to do all the same things and never be able to change that number on the scale or the way my body looked."
"I feel really good and healthy. I feel light physically and light mentally," she continued.
"I just can do more. I'm more active. My joints don't hurt as much.
"I just feel like something as simple as just getting down is a lot easier for me.
"And I do it a lot faster. I feel like I have a lot of energy and it's great. I just feel pretty good about it."
Wimbledon’s strangest rules
Age limits aren't the only strict rule at Wimbledon; there's a whole host of weird and wonderful requirements in place for the iconic tournament.
Curfew
While at other grand slams, play continues late into the night, at Wimbledon there’s a strict 11pm curfew.
This means tennis fans sometimes have to go to bed on a cliffhanger.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal’s 2018 semi-final clash was suspended after the third set. Meanwhile, Andy Murray was particularly peeved when he was in the lead against Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2023, but went on to lose when the game was paused overnight and restarted the following morning.
Timed toilet breaks
Players are limited to one toilet break for matches up to three sets, and two if it goes on for longer.
They can only go during a set change and they have to be back within three minutes, or they risk giving a point to their opponent.
The longest ever Wimbledon match lasted a whopping 11 hours over three days, so players better get their nervous wees in before the match.
Temper tantrums
Players can be fined up to £36,900 for smashing their rackets. Djokovic is believed to have smashed over 60 of them over the course of his career.
Bad language can also result in the same maximum fine.
Countdown to serve
As soon as the ball goes out of play, the serving player has just 25 seconds to hit their serve, or the umpire can call a violation which could potentially grant a point to their opponent.
Fines for not trying hard enough
Players must demonstrate they’re giving their all to win the match. Australian player Bernard Tomic was fined an eye-watering £45,000 after he was accused of not putting in enough effort to beat French player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, losing after just 58 minutes.
The grass and the balls
Everything at Wimbledon is just so. The grass is cut to 8mm, which is apparently best suited for modern tennis play and for the grass to survive.
Meanwhile, the tennis balls are kept in a fridge in order to maintain a constant temperature of 20°C. A consistent temperature is important because it apparently affects the way the balls bounce. The more you know.
Tennis whites
It was originally just female players who were required to wear all-white on the court. According to Tennis Fashions: Over 125 Years of Costume Change, the rule was introduced because it was ‘quite unthinkable that a lady should be seen to perspire’. OK then…
Eventually, the rule was imposed on men too.
A single trim of colour is allowed around the neckline and sleeve cuffs, but this must be no thicker than 1cm.
In 2022, an exception was made so women could wear dark undershorts to feel more comfortable if they were on their periods.
Topics: Wimbledon, Sport, Serena Williams, UK News
Jen Thomas