Serena Williams will begin her bid for an eighth Wimbledon title as the 25th seed after being handed a discretional promotion by the All England Club.
The 36-year-old is ranked world No 183 as she continues her comeback from giving birth to her first child last year but Wimbledon officials have discretion to seed a player regardless of ranking and are understood to have come to a decision at a meeting on Tuesday.
Williams, who holds an Open-era record of 23 Grand Slam victories, made her competitive return to the game in March at Indian Wells before an encouraging run to the French Open fourth round was ended by a right pectoral injury.
Williams first won at Wimbledon in 2002 while the American claimed the last of her seven titles at the All England Club in 2016 with victory against Angelique Kerber before she missed out on last year’s tournament. Wednesday’s announcement means Williams will not meet a seed before the third round.
The draw for the women’s singles will take place on Friday.
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