Carlos Alcaraz, and not seven-time champion Novak Djokovic, was named as the No. 1 seed in the men’s tournament for Wimbledon on Wednesday.
The All England Club went away from the formula it used until 2019 of taking into account results on grass at Wimbledon and other tournaments and elected to follow the ATP rankings to determine its seeds.
Alcaraz rose to No. 1 in the world rankings on Monday, one day after the 20-year-old Spaniard won a grass-court tune-up tournament at Queen’s Club in London. Serbia’s Djokovic, who is ranked second in the world, has been idle since seizing his men’s-record 23rd Grand Slam title at the French Open on June 11.
Four-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek, who is seeking her first Wimbledon title, was tabbed as the top seed for the women’s tournament. The 22-year-old native of Poland won her third French Open title earlier this month and the U.S. Open in 2022. She has yet to advance past the fourth round at Wimbledon, however.
The draw to set up the brackets will be conducted on Friday. The tournament itself starts Monday.
Russian Daniil Medvedev is ranked third, followed by Casper Ruud of Norway, Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, Holger Rune of Denmark, Jannik Sinner of Italy, Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe.
Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka is ranked second in the women’s field. Defending champion Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan is third, however her availability is in doubt as she deals with a viral illness.
Jessica Pegula, Caroline Garcia of France, Ons Jabeur of Tunisia, Coco Gauff, Maria Sakkari of Greece, two-time champion Petra Kvitova and Barbora Krejcikova — both of the Czech Republic — round out the top 10. Kvitova cited fatigue for withdrawing from Eastbourne this week.
–Field Level Media
