Serena Williams has been seeded 25th for the women’s singles at this year’s Wimbledon Championships even though she is outside the world’s top 32.
The 36-year-old American, a seven-time Wimbledon singles winner, is ranked at 183 in the world but missed most of last season to give birth to her first child in September.
According to the Wimbledon website, the ladies’ singles seeding order follows the WTA top-32 ranking list “except where in the opinion of the committee, a change is necessary to produce a balanced draw”. For the men’s seedings it is the “top 32 players on the ATP ranking list, but then rearranged on a surface-based system”.
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Williams’ seeding means that Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova - the world No.32 - has not been seeded, the BBC reports.
Earlier this week Cibulkova said it would not be right for Williams to be seeded. She said: “I don’t think it’s the right thing to do. I think it’s just not fair. I have tried and I should be seeded. If they put her in front of me then I will lose my spot that I am supposed to have.”
Halep and Federer top seeds
World No.1 women’s player Simona Halep of Romania gets top seeding for the Championships. Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki is seeded second and Spain’s Garbine Muguruza is third. Britain’s Johanna Konta is seeded 22nd.
In the men’s draw Roger Federer is seeded No.1 despite being No.2 on the ATP world rankings. Spaniard Rafael Nadal is seeded No.2 and Croatia’s Marin Cilic is three.
Britain’s Kyle Edmund is seeded No.22 but Andy Murray “cannot be seeded as he sits outside the top 32 in the rankings”, says the BBC.
The 2018 Wimbledon Championships take place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club from 2 to 15 July.
Wimbledon 2018 gentlemen’s singles: the 32 seeds
- 1. Roger Federer
- 2. Rafael Nadal
- 3. Marin Cilic
- 4. Alexander Zverev
- 5. Juan Martin del Potro
- 6. Grigor Dimitrov
- 7. Dominic Thiem
- 8. Kevin Anderson
- 9. John Isner
- 10. David Goffin
- 11. Sam Querrey
- 12. Novak Djokovic
- 13. Milos Raonic
- 14. Roberto Bautista Agut
- 15. Diego Schwartzman
- 16. Nick Kyrgios
- 17. Borna Coric
- 18. Lucas Pouille
- 19. Jack Sock
- 20. Fabio Fognini
- 21. Pablo Carreno Busta
- 22. Kyle Edmund
- 23. Adrian Mannarino
- 24. Richard Gasquet
- 25. Kei Nishikori
- 26. Hyeon Chung
- 27. Philipp Kohlschreiber
- 28. Denis Shapovalov
- 29. Damir Dzumhur
- 30. Filip Krajinovic
- 31. Marco Cecchinato
- 32. Fernando Verdasco
Wimbledon 2018 ladies’ singles: the 32 seeds
- 1. Simona Halep
- 2. Caroline Wozniacki
- 3. Garbine Muguruza
- 4. Sloane Stephens
- 5. Elina Svitolina
- 6. Caroline Garcia
- 7. Karolina Pliskova
- 8. Petra Kvitova
- 9. Venus Williams
- 10. Madison Keys
- 11. Angelique Kerber
- 12. Jelena Ostapenko
- 13. Julia Goerges
- 14. Daria Kasatkina
- 15. Elise Mertens
- 16. Coco Vandeweghe
- 17. Ashleigh Barty
- 18. Naomi Osaka
- 19. Magdalena Rybarikova
- 20. Kiki Bertens
- 21. Anastasija Sevastova
- 22. Johanna Konta
- 23. Barbora Strycova
- 24. Maria Sharapova
- 25. Serena Williams
- 26. Daria Gavrilova
- 27. Carla Suarez Navarro
- 28. Anett Kontaveit
- 29. Mihaela Buzarnescu
- 30. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
- 31. Shuai Zhang
- 32. Agnieszka Radwanska
