Ivanka Trump defends "penalized" Serena Williams

In a prime case of worlds colliding, a First Daughter of the United States has come to the defense of a Williams sister.

Ivanka Trump, elder daughter of U.S. president Donald Trump, tweeted a link to an ESPN article just as the French Open event was nigh, criticizing the event organizers' decision not to provide a seeded entry to Serena Williams. Trump added that Williams remains "a formidable athlete (best ever!) and a loving new mother."

Family leave and parental rights, specifically those of mothers, have been a public policy matter that 36-year-old Trump, a mother of three, raised time and again during the 2016 presidential campaign and also since her father took office.

To be precise, this decision isn't left solely to the WTA Tour, even if the French Tennis Federation noted that it was following the tour's policy. That policy on rankings is one thing, but seedings at major events are up to the four Grand Slam tournaments themselves and whether or not they choose to directly reflect the world rankings, as they are operated independent of the tour itself. In this case, Roland Garros overseers opted out of making a change to accommodate two-time singles winner Williams.

She entered the draw with a protected ranking of No. 1, but her official ranking this week stands at No. 451. On Tuesday, she won her first major match as a mother over Kristyna Pliskova, 7-6 (4), 6-4.

Follow Jon on Twitter @jonscott9.

—Tennis Channel Plus features up to 10 courts of live action from Roland Garros beginning Sunday, May 27 at 5:00am ET.

—Catch up and watch all your favorite stars anytime on-demand with Tennis Channel Plus.