Wimbledon rivals back Serena's seeding

Many of Serena Williams' Wimbledon rivals have rallied round the seven-time champion to say the All England Club was right to seed the American, despite her lowly ranking.

Williams' place in the Wimbledon seedings has been a hot topic in the tennis world after her tentative return to action following the birth of daughter Alexis Olympia in September.

The 36-year-old played her first Grand Slam for over a year at the French Open last month, reaching the fourth round before a shoulder injury forced her to quit ahead of her clash with Maria Sharapova.

Williams is ranked 183 after her pregnancy absence and French Open chiefs decided against seeding her.

However, Wimbledon officials felt the former world number one's record on grass was so superior to her rivals that they seeded her 25th to ensure a balanced draw.

Slovakian world number 32 Dominika Cibulkova was bumped from the seeding group as a result.

"I don't think it's the right thing to do. It's just not fair," Cibulkova said before the decision was announced.

"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."
"Obviously she has so many titles from Wimbledon. She loves to play on the grass."
- No surprise -
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"It was in the pipeline and spoken about for quite some time, so I don't think anyone was surprised."