Does Wembledon Have a Secret “R”?

What’s the deal here? The Queen of England deigns to visit Wembledon for the first time in 33 years…

And they pull arguably the best Women’s tennis player in the world, reigning Wimbledon Singles Champion,  3 time Wembledon Champ, and 12 time Grand Slam Champion…  Off the court…

And replace her with a nobody?

And as well as the Queen got on with Michelle Obama earlier this year…

It “ain’t” the Queen making this call.

It’s not only an insult to Venus Williams… It’s an insult to the Queen.

Wimbledon Does Serena Royal Disservice

(or the Queen of England visits Wembledon, only to be presented with a backbencher.)

WIMBLEDON, England — This is an insult. Serena Williams was even practicing her curtsy in preparation for playing tennis in front of the Queen, who will attend Wimbledon Thursday for the first time in 33 years.

It’s a special moment for a special tournament, but the most special women’s player going Thursday, Williams, was pushed out to Court 2. The Queen will be watching at Centre Court.

This is just wrong. And I can’t stand it when players grumble about the indignity of being put out on far away courts, as if they deserve more. But this time, with the Queen coming in, court placement matters. And Serena Williams deserves the honor.

To move the best player in the world and defending champion who, with her sister Venus, has dominated Wimbledon for a decade, is not an accident. It is a message, but I don’t know, and am even a little afraid of, what that message is.