Greg Rusedski has shared his disappointment after Serena Williams declined to speak to the media after losing in the first round of Wimbledon.
Playing her first singles match in almost four years, Williams was beaten 3-6, 7-6(8-6), 3-6 by Maya Joint on Centre Court.
And rather than opening up about the loss afterwards, the 44-year-old stayed away from the spotlight entirely, with Williams criticized for cancelling her Wimbledon press conference.
Former ATP player Rusedski has now shared his verdict on the matter, calling out the WTA superstar after a knee injury excused her from media duties at Wimbledon.
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Greg Rusedski calls out Serena Williams after Wimbledon snub
Rusedski said on his Off Court podcast: “I guess they have changed the rules through injury that you don’t get a fine.
“In my day, I don’t think we had that luxury unless we were wheeled off in a wheelchair or had some terrible incident happen to us, like Alexander Zverev when he played Rafael Nadal at the French Open.
“It was a knee injury, she said she got it after the first set. There are question marks over whether she is going to play doubles with Venus [Williams]. But I think you have to do the press conference.
“There is no question that she deserved a wildcard, you’re not going to say to one of the biggest legends of the game who wants to play singles [no]. You are definitely going to give her one, with all the majors that she won.
“But it kind of feels a bit bad that she didn’t do a press conference after she lost. If she was that bad they could have wheeled her in and put some ice on the knee.
“Just say thank you so much for Wimbledon for giving me the wildcard and opportunity and give credit to her opponent and just talk about the situation.
“Maybe she didn’t serve as well as she liked. Yes, the pace was there, the accuracy was not. She did not break down the forehand side.
“I think it’s a responsibility of a great champion and every player usually gets a fine if they don’t do the press conference.
“So part of me is thinking I would have liked to see her do it, but within the rules you’re allowed to do that.
“Maybe she was so upset that she didn’t want to say anything but I kind of feel that I would have liked to hear from Serena.”
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Greg Rusedski really disappointed by Serena Williams’ actions at Wimbledon
Williams is clearly battling an injury, with her blockbuster doubles appearance with Venus in serious doubt.
But it definitely wasn’t a good look for the legendary figure to avoid speaking after her singles loss, particularly given her status as a wildcard, which is a highly coveted honour.
Adding further comment on the controversial situation, Rusedski said: “It’s not like Serena has been on Tour every week. This was a huge story. I mean it’s massive.
“You have one of the former champions and one of the greats, if not the GOAT of the women’s game, come back to play and she doesn’t talk to the press.
“It starves journalists to be able to listen, to hear facts, to see what she thinks about it, to see if she is going to come back or just to get an idea and add colour to it.
“You can put social media posts out there all you want. But most of these players are hiring somebody for thousands of pounds a month to make their image look good and to put their sound bites in.
“We want to see raw emotion and truth come out of these people. For me I am a bit disappointed I didn’t get to hear from Serena after a loss which must have been difficult to take.”
Notably, the 23-time Grand Slam champion has also been viewed in a positive light at Wimbledon, with Novak Djokovic urging people to stop criticizing Williams.
Many other players and fans will have the same overriding perspective, overjoyed that they get to witness such a legend in action again.
Whether or not she can pull through for doubles remains to be seen, but the fact that she is still at the All England Club means there is still time to speak to the media if she wishes.
