Al Bello/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Ivanka Trump is not happy about the way Serena Williams was treated in the lead up to the French Open.
The First Daughter came to the defense of the tennis star on social media on Thursday, writing that it was “ridiculous” that Williams was unseeded from the tennis tournament after having taken time off from the game to give birth to her daughter.
“This is ridiculous,” Trump wrote in a tweet Thursday. “@SerenaWilliams is a formidable athlete (best ever!) and loving new mother. No person should ever be penalized professionally for having a child! The #WTA should change this rule immediately. #FrenchOpen.”
Without being seeded, Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam winner who has won the French Open three times, could face highly-ranked opponents in the early rounds of the tournament.
She returned to the World Tennis Association tour in March after giving birth to her daughter, and has won twice and lost twice.
Williams has not commented publicly about the seeding situation, but she hasn’t been laying low in recent weeks, either.
Last weekend, she was in England and attended the royal wedding – as she is a friend of the newly-minted Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle.
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