Hers is a case where having entry cut-off 6 weeks before the tourney helps. If I counted correctly, Serena's ranking pre/during Wimbledon was high enough to get her direct entry iinto events through the week of Toronto. But if she wanted to play Cincy or the week of New Haven/Dallas, she would need a wild card or to use her protected ranking--just like she had to for the US Open. I don't remember the specifics off the top of my head, but there's a finite # of times a player can use a protected ranking (and the player had to be off the tour for a minimum amount of time to even qualify for the protected ranking deal).