Serena Williams seeded 17th at US Open

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Serena Williams has been seeded 17th at this year’s US Open, nine spots above her current ranking of world number 26, according to the announcement of the US Tennis Association (USTA) on Tuesday.

The tournament decision means Williams avoids a possible matchup against one of the top eight players in the third round and she may have a possible matchup at that stage against her sister Venus, who is seeded 16th. All of the other seeds – 32 women, 32 men – were positioned based on the WTA and ATP rankings, as usual.

USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier said the placement of Williams was determined by “balancing a variety of factors, including her return to competition following the birth of her daughter, her recent hard court performance this summer, and recognition of her achievements at the US Open.”

He added that the USTA thought the decision “recognizes Serena, and is fair to the remaining seeded players.”

The USTA President Katrina Adams already had said in June that the tournament would institute a policy to take into account if a pregnancy affected a player’s ranking.

Adams’ comments came in the wake of widespread criticism of tennis officials after Serena was denied a seeding at this year’s French Open, her first grand slam after returning to the sport.

Angelique Kerber (L) of Germany, winner of the women's singles final at Wimbledon, and runner-up Selena Williams of the US, pose for photos with their trophies in London, July 14, 2018. /VCG Photo

She is currently ranked 26th in the world after finishing runner-up at Wimbledon in July, during which she lost to Germany’s Angelique Kerber in the final.

Romanian Simona Halep is the top seed in the women’s draw with defending champion Sloane Stephens at number three, ahead of Kerber, who won at Flushing Meadows in 2016.

There were no surprises on the men’s side with world number one and defending champion Rafa Nadal named top seed, ahead of Roger Federer and Argentine Juan Martin del Porto in third.

Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic, who heads to Flushing Meadows in arguably his best form since returning from a troublesome elbow injury, is seeded sixth, a place below big-serving South African Kevin Anderson.

John Isner is the highest-seeded American in the men’s draw at number 11.

The draw for the US Open is Thursday in New York.

Main-draw play begins in Flushing Meadows on Monday.

Source(s): AP ,Reuters