"French Open is punishing Serena Williams for having a baby" read a USA Today headline, arguing an expection for the 23-time major winner should be made for Thursday's draw. After sitting out of competition for over a year, she no longer had a ranking upon her return to the WTA circuit in March. She has played just four matches this season across appearances at Indian Wells and Miami. With a ranking so low, no player would typically even be able to take part in qualifying for the main draw. At Miami, Williams ran into Indian Wells champion Naomi Osaka in her opening match and was easily beaten.

Source: The Nation Bangkok May 23, 2018 00:11 UTC