Last week, serena Williams was particularly unhappy at being asked to play on Court 2. She noted that this happened to her and Venus a lot and she did not know why this kept happening. Other women waded into the debate suggesting that it was sex discrimination. Which I assume it absolutely is. Fundamentally nobody goes to Wimbledon to watch womens tennis. An unscientific survey based on conversations in the queue suggested nadal, federer and Murray (but not djokovic oddly) were the main draws. Which moves us to point 1 of why Serena should stop complaining and just be happy to be at Wimbledon.
People go to watch the men
As my official and determinative survey shows, people do not go to Wimbledon to watch the Williams sisters. Not once did I heat anyone remark 'I have queued overnight to watch serena lose the first set to the world number 104 but ultimately prevail'. Not once did somebody say they wished there were more women matches on centre. I did overhear some muttering that the Court 2 line up on Day 7 was disappointing. Why? Because it contained more womens matches than mens.
They get equal pay for far less work
Without wading into the equal prize money debate, it's fair to say it's a disgrace which should be ended immediately. Serena gets to play 3/5 less sets than the men while receiving the same prize money. The games themselves are far shorter too. After her tireless campaigning, Serena has succeeded in getting a considerable amount of money for little work. So she should accept that she might occassionally not be centre stage.
This is not unprecedented
By 2002, Pete Sampras had won 7 Wimbledon titles, and while not the holder had won it in 2000. His second round match was arranged for Court 2. Sampras opted to not throw his toys everywhere and demand respect and just got on with it. In 2007, French Open winner and 06 runner up Nadal (seeded 2) ended up on Court 2. McEnroe, Connors, Agassi, Cash, Stich and Becker all lost on Court 2. All men. All bigger draws than Serena.
It makes no difference
The rules of tennis state a singles court is 79 feet long and 27 feet wide. Always. Court 2 is not shorter or narrower. It is the exact same size as any tennis court Serena has ever played on. Court 2 is also still a show court. She is not being asked to play on a smaller court located 34 miles from Wimbledon and accessible only by boat.
It now doesn't matter
Serena played on Court 2 and won. She played on Court 1 and lost. When news of her defeat reached centre, there was a large cheer. So maybe she should just shut up.
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