Cibulkova thinks it's 'unfair' that Serena will be seeded at Wimbledon

Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova, who was dropped from a seeding position when Serena Williams was seeded at No. 25 for Wimbledon, calls it "unfair" but says Williams is being recognized for her career record.

While current WTA rules give players a protected ranking when returning to tour from injury or pregnancy, they do not allow it to be used for seeding at events.

Wimbledon, as a Grand Slam, can do its own seedings. The event promoted Williams, who has won the tournament several times and is returning to tour following the birth of her first child in 2017, to No. 25 in the seedings. Cibulkova, who is No. 32, will now not be seeded.

"I have the right and I should be seeded," Cibulkova told journalists at Eastbourne, in additional statements following her press conference. "My opinion about it is that I don’t think it’s fair and I don’t think it’s the right thing to do.

"It’s a really different thing if they change the seeding. Why should I not be seeded when I have the right to be?"

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Cibulkova, who has previously reached the finals at Melbourne and the semifinal at Wimbledon, had also told press that she agreed with players getting a protected ranking when they return to tour, but not a seeding.

“For me, it would be great if [Serena] is not seeded, but I cannot do anything about that. So that's their decision,” Cibulkova said at Eastbourne. “They have the right to do it. So what I can do?

"She won it so many times, so if I would be maybe [ranked] 31 I would say, yeah, she has the right to be seeded. It's hard to say anything. I don't want to just be so uptight with the seeding.”

At the French Open, which has a policy of using the rankings for seeding, Williams was not among the Top 32 seeds. She reached the fourth round before withdrawing with injury. Other players returning from childbirth, like Victoria Azarenka, have not received special seedings while returning.

Cibulkova added that Williams was receiving seeding because of her record.

“I think if it will be a different player, not her, I think she would not be seeded," she said. "It's just because she won it many times and she's Serena Williams. So I think that's why.”

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