Jon Wertheim gives his seed reports, matches to watch and makes predictions ahead of Wimbledon. LONDON - I don’t practice Santeria / I ain’t got no crystal ball. But I do have a window of free time now. So here’s some prognosticating before Wimbledon 2018. Men Enough of the safe picks. We’re going out on a limb and—get this—tipping a player who is almost 37 years old! 1. Roger Federer (SUI): The defending champ might be almost 37, but he’s the player to beat. He’s well rested, having taken off the clay again. And he played well, if not supernaturally well, in his two tune-up grass events. And, besides, who else is beating him? 2. Rafael Nadal (ESP): Hasn’t done much at Wimbledon since 2011. But before that, he reached the final in five straight years he entered. The conditions and slow courts should help. And his campaign in Paris —full of the usual fixed determination—was remarkably free of physical duress. 3. Marin Cilic (CRO): A finalist last year (and in Australia), Cilic is, unquestionably, the world’s No. 3 player, as the seeding indicates. But he likely needs to figure out how to get through Federer, something he’s only done once in ten career matches. Wimbledon 2018 Preview Roundtable: Predictions, Dark Horses, More 4. Alexander Zverev (GER): Learned a difficult lesson in Paris about the importance of taking care of business efficiently in the early rounds. He toiled through multiple five-setters and had nothing left in the tank against Dominic Thiem. You might—and likely he might—worry about his leg, which was taped heavily at the Boodles exhibition. 5. Juan Martin del Potro (ARG): We sometimes forget that he’s still only 29. Has had success here, reaching a semifinal (and winning an Olympic medal) but has only won three Wimbledon matches since 2014. 6. Grigor Dimitrov (BUL): Has suddenly come down with a nasty case of the yips, especially on his service toss. Hard to lose control of the one thing you’re in control of. Yes, he’s a former semifinalist, having proven his bona fides on grass. But a straight-set drubbing in Queens to Djokovic douses optimism. 7. Dominic Thiem (AUT): Likable guy and likeable game, but needs more time to set up than grass permits. Also in a rough quarter. 8. Kevin Anderson (RSA): Love the serve; don’t love the movement. Yes, he once had Djokovic on the ropes here. But he's just 30-24 lifetime on grass. In the Federer quarter, it's hard to see him getting beyond quarters. 9. John Isner (USA): The Isner irony: he’s inextricably tied to Wimbledon, eight (gulp) years after the 70-68 match (that gives new dimension to the sports cliché “epic.”) But grass has never been his best surface—he's only 10-9. The low bounce is this giant's nemesis. 10. David Goffin (BEL): Absence of firepower is exposed on grass. Can always get sneaky, benefitting from his speed. 14-15 lifetime on the surface. 11. Sam Querrey (USA): Terrific Wimbledon in 2016 and 2017, beating both Djokovic and Murray. But wish he had more momentum coming in, as he’s only 13-12 on the year. 12. Novak Djokovic: We eagerly await the inevitable comeback. Could easily happen here. The draw gods did him no favors—putting him square in the worst quarter—but if he plays himself into the tournament, look for him in the latter rounds. Where he belongs. 13. Milos Raonic: Like Djokovic, another gentrifying neighborhood. Finalist in 2016 is back. Question, as always, is his health and durability. 14. Diego Schwartzman: Applaud the Argentine for reaching these heights (no pun intended); but not his 0-3 record at Wimbledon. 15. Nick Kyrgios: The great wild card, in more ways than one. He claims he’s ready and rested. The talent is undeniable; the mental fitness is another matter. Easy to see him making week two. Tough to see him winning his quarter. 16. Borna Coric: A player to watch, even if he weren’t coming off a win over Federer. Nice to see his results keeping pace with his potential. Seeds 17-32 18. Jack Sock (USA): It's July and it’s time he started his year. 21. Kyle Edmund (ENG): New pressure as the highest Brit. 25. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER): If it’s German-made, it works on grass. 26. Denis Shapovalov (CAN): Not a great draw, but always a player to watch now. 31. Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE): The Greek Freak is coming. Dark Horse Pasture • Damir Dzumhur: Your ATP Antalya Open winner just this past weekend. • Feliciano Lopez (ESP): Mostly so we can applaud him playing the most consecutive Slams, 66 now. Andy Murray Withdraws From Wimbledon With Bad Hip • Karen Khachanov (RUS): Too good not be top 32. • Mischa Zverev (GER): Ironically, might be the more successful Zverev this event. First-round matches to watch • Stanislas Wawrinka v. Grigor Dimitrov: Two top ten stalwarts meet immediately. A rough early test for Wawrinka’s health and durability. • Roger Federer v. Dusan Lajovic: In his first match, Federer gets a solid veteran opponent. And fans get dueling one-handed backhands. • Gael Monfils v. Richard Gasquet: Two French soldiers—with contrasting styles—getting on in years. Speaking of civil war…. • Stevie Johnson v. John Isner: A likely second rounder pitting two Americans. • Frances Tiafoe v. Fernando Verdasco: the forehand hitch special. Upset special • If Zverev’s leg is as bad as we’re led to believe keep an eye on his pocket of the draw. Predictions • Doubles: Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herber. And if Mahut’s kid joins the celebration, so much the better. • Semis: Federer d. Cilic, Nadal d. Djokovic • Final: Federer d. Nadal • Winner: Federer Women I wish we could watch Serena play one set before making a pronouncement. If she’s healthy, she’s a good bet to win. If her pectoral muscle is preventing her from serving, you’re inclined to pick any of the 24 players seeded higher 1. Simona Halep (ROU): Tennis karma did its part in Paris, as Halep finally won her first major. Well-deserved. And she rested, playing zero tuneups. Now—having proven to herself that she can win seven straight matches—let’s see if she can do it again. 2. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN): She’s already won one major this season on a fast court. Never been beyond the fourth round here in 11 tries but her Eastbourne title bodes well. 3. Garbine Muguruza (ESP): Becoming tennis’ great coin flip, a player as capable of winning Slams (as she’s done twice, including Wimbledon 2017) as she is losing early (as she did last week in Birmingham.) Feels the burden of expectation like few other players do. 4. Sloane Stephens (USA): A career reassessment is in order, now that she has demonstrable proof that she can play deep into majors. She won the U.S. Open. She came within a few games of winning the French. Now Wimbledon? No tuneups, but that might be a disguised blessing. Ted Robinson on the Federer–Nadal Rivalry, 10 Years After the Storied Wimbledon 2008 Final 5. Elina Svitolina (UKR): Her career record at Wimbledon is 5-5. (Though three wins came last year.) Has the misfortune of residing in a Serena Williams-adjacent neighborhood in the draw. 6. Caroline Garcia (ESP): Love the athleticism and slowly building self belief. But only 7-5 for her career at Wimbledon and potentially tough first rounder against Belinda Bencic, a former junior champ here and also a former top-tenner. 7. Karolina Pliskova (CZE): Seems to have regressed since becoming No. 1. Rough year includes two strange losses on grass tuneups. Watch her likely second rounder against Azarenka. 8. Petra Kvitova (CZE): A Wimbledon winner (twice) in the past and a potential winner in the present. Her 38-7 record this year includes a title at the Birmingham tune-up. Hasn't been past a Grand Slam quarter since 2014, but—again with Serena’s health as the wild card—her potential quarterfinal against Halep could be a de facto final. 9. Venus Williams (USA): Lots of applause for achieving a top-10 seed at this age. A finalist last year, and she will always be a threat on grass. Both happily and frustratingly, it’s been her accuracy, not her body, that’s been letting her down lately. 10.<doc-sep>Get email updates with the day's biggest stories Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Serena Williams will be No.25 seed at Wimbledon next week in a compromise move by the All England Club. The American superstar is ranked world No.183 after her maternity leave but has won the singles title seven times. Her seeding will see her avoid any seeds in the first two rounds but she will then face a top eight player. If Williams had been seeded any higher, No.24 seed Maria Sharapova would have been shunted down into the same position. World No.32 Dominika Cibulkova now misses out with the draw made at 10am on Friday. Williams has played only seven matches in three tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami and the French Open before pulling out in Paris with a pectoral strain before facing Sharapova. (Image: AFP) The American has already started her Wimbledon preparations at the Aorangi Park practice grounds this week. World No.2 Caroline Wozniacki said: “I’m not sure exactly what they base their seedings off because in my opinion, I think Victoria Azarenka deserves to be seeded, as well. “I don’t know why Serena is seeded 25 and not 24 or 16 or 32. I think Wimbledon has always been the tournament that have done their own thing. I think Serena deserves to be seeded and she got her seed.” Cibulkova said: “I have the right and I should be seeded. If they put her in front of me, then I will just lose my spot that I am supposed to have. My opinion about it is that I don’t think it’s fair and I don’t think it’s the right thing to do.| Each of the sport’s four Grand Slams has the prerogative to seed players to ensure a balanced tournament. The French Open decided last month not to seed Williams but the US Open, which does not start till August 27, said this weekend that they would take into account absences for pregnancy and childbirth for this year's seedings. (Image: REUTERS) Speaking on Tuesday before the announcement, Williams called for WTA rules to change to take into account maternity leave. She said: “I think and I hope — and it should be under review — to change these rules. Maybe not in time for me, but for the next person. Maybe she's 25 and she wants to have a baby, but she doesn't want her career to be over. She wants to continue to play. So I think it's important to have those rules reviewed.” Miami tournament director James Blake claimed earlier this year that the WTA's failure to seed players returning from pregnancy was “a kind of punishment.” Despite dropping to world No.2 this week, defending champion Roger Federer is the No.1 seed in the men's draw due to the formula taking into account results in grass-court events in the prevoius two years. But this only applies to the world's top 32 so world No.156 Andy Murray is not seeded – and could draw Federer or Rafa Nadal in the first round. * JO KONTA will return to Wimbledon without a win against a top-ten player for a year after losing 4-6 6-1 6-4 to Wozniacki. The British No.1, who beat world No.2 Simona Halep to reach the semi-finals of her home Grand Slam last July, has lost seven matches against top-ten players since. * WIMBLEDON favourite Petra Kvitova has withdrawn from the Nature Valley International with a right hamstring injury.<doc-sep>For the first time since 2012, Roger Federer was the top seed going into a Grand Slam, and as the defending champion, he was the favorite to win it, at least as far as most experts were concerned. Federer, as he did in 2017, skipped the clay court season, including the French Open, to keep himself fresh for the grass court season. Federer, 36, has eight singles titles at Wimbledon, winning it last year after a significant gap, as his previous title was from 2012. Federer is still considered the most skilled player in all of men’s tennis, and though he’s slowing down, there isn’t much to worry about outside of the norm: a lot of strong contenders to deal with. One of those contenders was Kevin Anderson, the hard server who took Federer down in the quarterfinals before beating John Isner to reach the final against Novak Djokovic. That final is set for Sunday morning, beginning at 9 a.m. ET. Below is the bracket, viewing information, and a full schedule with results updated several times a day throughout the tournament. Bracket Bracket courtesy of the official Wimbledon website. Viewing information As usual, ESPN will carry television coverage of Wimbledon in the United States. Coverage will exist primarily on the flagship ESPN network, with some coverage rolling over into ESPN2. Online streaming of the entire Wimbledon Grand Slam will also be available, as usual, via WatchESPN and the ESPN App on various devices. All courts will be available for live streaming throughout the tournament, though some require a subscription to the new ESPN+ service. Below is a list of days and which channels you can watch the action on, and below that is the full tournament schedule and results, updated daily. How to watch Wimbledon Wimbledon TV Schedule Day Round Start End Channel Day Round Start End Channel Mon, July 2 First round 7 a.m 4:30 p.m. ESPN Tue, July 3 First round 7 a.m. 4:30 p.m. ESPN Wed, July 4 Second round 7 a.m 4 p.m. ESPN Thu, July 5 Second round 7 a.m 4:30 p.m. ESPN Fri, July 6 Third round 7 a.m 4:30 p.m. ESPN Sat, July 7 Third round 8 a.m. 5 p.m. ESPN Mon, July 9 Round of 16 7 a.m 4 p.m. ESPN, ESPN2 Tue, July 10 Quarterfinals 8 a.m. 4 p.m. ESPN, ESPN2 Wed, July 11 Quarterfinals 8 a.m. 4 p.m. ESPN, ESPN2 Thu, July 12 Semifinals 8 a.m. 1 p.m. ESPN Fri, July 13 Semifinals 8 a.m. 2 p.m. ESPN Sat, July 14 Women's final 9 a.m. 3 p.m. ESPN Sun, July 15 Men's final 9 a.m. 3 p.m. ESPN Schedule Day 1, Monday, July 2 (recap) No. 1 Roger Federer def. Dusan Lajovic 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 No. 3 Marin Cilic def. Yoshihito Nishioka, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 Stan Wawrinka def. No. 6 Grigor Dimitrov 1-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(5), 6-4 No. 8 Kevin Anderson def. Norbert Gombos, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 No. 9 John Isner def. Yannick Maden, 6-2, 7-6(4), 7-5 No. 11 Sam Querrey def. Jordan Thompson, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 No. 13 Milos Raonic def. Liam Broady, 7-5, 6-0, 6-1 Daniil Medvedv def. No. 16 Borna Coric, 7-6(6), 6-2, 6-2 No. 17 Lucas Pouille def. Denis Kudla, 6-3, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 No. 22 Adrian Mannarino def. Christian Garin, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 Gael Monfils def. No. 23 Richard Gasquet, 7-6(6), 7-5, 6-4 Nicolas Jarry def. No. 28 Filip Krajinovic, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 No. 31 Stefanos Tsitsipas def. Gregoire Barrere, 6-3, 6-4, 6(3)-7, 7-5 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Gastao Elias, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 Jared Donaldson def. Malek Jaziri, 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-1 Dennis Novak def. Peter Polansky, 6-2, 6-3, 7-6(7) Andreas Seppi def. John-Patrick Smith, 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 John Millman def. Stefano Travaglia, 6-7(6), 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 Gilles Muller def. Michael Mmoh, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-1 Ryan Harrison def. Roberto Carballes Baena, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 Thomas Fabbiano def. Yuki Bhambri, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 Radu Albot vs. Pablo Carreno Busta, to finish: 3-6, 6-0, 6-7(5), 6-2, 3-1 Sergiy Stakhovsky def. Joao Sousa, 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 1-6, 6-4 Lukas Lacko def. Benjamin Bonzi, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-4 Guido Pella def. Jason Kubler, 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(3) Paolo Lorenzi def. Laslo Djere, 7-6(1), 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-4 Jen-Lennard Struff def. Leonardo Mayer, 3-6, 6(5)-7, 7-6(5), 6-1 Robert Bemelmans def. Steve Johnson, 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 6-7(0), 8-6 Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Evgeny Donskoy, 6-2, 6-4, 7-5 Mackenzie McDonald def. Ricardas Berankis, 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-3, 7-6(6) Ivo Karlovic def. Mikhail Youzhny, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(7), 6-3 Day 2, Tuesday, July 3 No. 2 Rafael Nadal def. Dudi Sela, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 No. 12 Novak Djokovic def. Tennys Sandgren, 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 No. 4 Alexander Zverev def. James Duckworth, 7-5, 6-2, 6-0 No. 5 Juan Martin Del Potro def. Peter Gojowczyk, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 Marco Baghdatis def. No. 7 Dominic Thiem (retired) 6-4, 7-5, 2-0 Matthew Ebden def. No. 10 David Goffin, 6-4 6-3, 6-4 No. 14 Diego Schwartzman def. Mirza Basic, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 No. 15 Nick Kyrgios def. Denis Istomin, 7-6(3), 7-6(4), 6(5)-7, 6-3 Matteo Berrettini def. No. 18 Jack Sock, 6(5)-7, 6(3)-7, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 No. 19 Fabio Fognini def. Taro Daniel, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 No. 21 Kyle Edmund def. Alex Bolt, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 No. 24 Kei Nishikori def. Christian Harrison, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-2 No. 26 Denis Shapovalov def. Jeremy Chardy, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 6-4 No. 27 Damir Dzumhur def. Maximilian Marterer, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 Alex De Minaur def. No. 29 Marco Cecchinato, 6-4, 6(6)-7, 7-6(5), 6-1 Frances Tiafoe def. No. 30 Fernando Verdasco, 7-6(6), 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-3 Radu Albot def. No. 20 Pablo Carreno Busta, 3-6, 6-0, 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-1 Ernests Gulbis def. Jay Clarke, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-4 Mikhail Kukushkin def. Vasek Pospisil, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 Benoit Paire def. Jason Jung, 7-5, 7-6(1), 6-4 Robin Haase def. Marius Copil, 7-6(0), 7-5 4-6, 7-6(4) Julien Benneteau def. Marton Fucsovics, 7-5, 7-5, 6-3 Pierre-Hugues Herbert def. Mischa Zverev, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 Feliciano Lopez def. Federico Delbonis, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 Taylor Fritz def. Lorenzo Sonego, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 Karen Khachanov def. David Ferrer, 6-1, 7-6(3), 3-6, 7-5 Jiri Vesely def. Florian Mayer, 7-6(3), 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 Stephane Robert def. Albert Ramos-Vinolas, 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-1 Gilles Simon def. Nikoloz Basilashvili, 6-1, 7-6(5), 6-1 Simone Bolelli def. Pablo Cuevas, 7-6(5), 7-6(6), 6-1 Horacio Zeballos def. Guido Andreozzi, 4-6, 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-4 Bradley Klahn def. Yuichi Sugita, 2-6, 7-6(6), 6-2, 6-2 Bernard Tomic def. Hubert Hurkacz, 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(2) Day 3, Wednesday, July 4 No. 1 Roger Federer def. Lukas Lacko, 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 No. 3 Marin Cilic vs. Guido Pella, to finish: 6-3, 6-1, 3-4 No. 8 Kevin Anderson vs. Andreas Seppi, to finish: 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3, 1-1 No. 9 John Isner vs. Ruben Bemelmans, to finish: 6-1, 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-7(3), 3-4 No. 11 Sam Querrey def. Sergiy Stakhovsky, 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-3 No. 13 Milos Raonic def John Millman, 7-6(4), 7-6(4), 7-6(4) Dennis Novak def. No. 17 Lucas Pouille, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7(8), 3-6, 6-2 No. 22 Adrian Mannarino def. Ryan Harrison, 7-5, 7-5, 7-6(4) No. 25 Philipp Kohlschreiber vs. Gilles Muller, to finish: 7-6(6), 6-6(5-3) No. 31 Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Jared Donaldson, to finish: 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 3-4 Gael Monfils def. Paolo Lorenzi, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5), 7-6(3) Thomas Fabbiano vs. Stan Wawrinka, to finish: 7-6(7), 6-3, 5-6 Mackenzie McDonald def. Nicolas Jarry, 7-6(5), 5-7, 3-6, 6-2, 11-9 Jan-Lennard Struff def. Ivo Karlovic, 6-7(5), 3-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(4), 13-11 Radu Albot def. Aljaz Bedene, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-3 Daniil Medvedev def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 Day 4, Thursday, July 5 No. 2 Rafael Nadal def. Mikhail Kukushkin, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 Guido Pella def. No. 3 Marin Cilic, 3-6, 1-6, 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-5 No. 4 Alexander Zverev vs. Taylor Fritz No. 5 Juan Del Potro def. Feliciano Lopez, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 No. 8 Kevin Anderson def. Andreas Seppi, 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 No. 9 John Isner vs. Ruben Bemelmans, to finish: 6-1, 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-7(3), 3-4 No. 12 Novak Djokovic def. Horacio Zeballos, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 Jiri Vesely def. No. 14 Diego Schwartzman, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3) No. 15 Nick Kyrgios def. Robin Haase, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 No. 19 Fabio Fognini def. Simone Bolelli, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 No. 21 Kyle Edmund def.<doc-sep>
Serena Williams, the seven-time champion who could not defend her Wimbledon title last year as she was preparing for the birth of her first child in September, returns to the All England Club next week seeded 25th among the best 32 players in the women’s singles draw. If there were no storms forecast overhead for the start of the championships, there will be a few closer to the ground. To many disinterested parties, there is logic in the decision announced by the tournament’s seedings committee on Wednesday morning. To at least one player, the 29-year-old Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova, it is profoundly unfair that Williams, ranked 183 in the world as she works her way back into the game, should edge her out of the top 32. The British No 1, Johanna Konta, says Cibulkova’s situation ought to have been taken into account. “I don’t think it’s the right thing to do,” Cibulkova, the former world No 4 and 2014 Australian Open finalist, who twice has made the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, said this week. Williams, speaking on Good Morning America before the seedings were revealed, said: “Unfortunately, in the 90s they changed the rule whereas if you were injured [and] then you come back, you lose your seeding. But they never took into account women that left No 1 due to pregnancy, and left not for an injury, but to have a great life and not give up tennis, but to come back.” Williams, who returned to the majors at the French Open last month, unseeded, looked impressive all the way to the fourth round, where she pulled out on the eve of her highly anticipated match against Maria Sharapova. Quick Guide Wimbledon seedings Show Men’s singles seedings 1 FEDERER, Roger (SUI) 2 NADAL, Rafael (ESP) 3 CILIC, Marin (CRO) 4 ZVEREV, Alexander (GER) 5 DEL POTRO, Juan Martin (ARG) 6 DIMITROV, Grigor (BUL) 7 THIEM, Dominic (AUT) 8 ANDERSON, Kevin (RSA) 9 ISNER, John (USA) 10 GOFFIN, David (BEL) 11 QUERREY, Sam (USA) 12 DJOKOVIC, Novak (SRB) 13 RAONIC, Milos (CAN) 14 BAUTISTA AGUT, Roberto (ESP) 15 SCHWARTZMAN, Diego (ARG) 16 KYRGIOS, Nick (AUS) 17 CORIC, Borna (CRO) 18 POUILLE, Lucas (FRA) 19 SOCK, Jack (USA) 20 FOGNINI, Fabio (ITA) 21 CARRENO BUSTA, Pablo (ESP) 22 EDMUND, Kyle (GBR) 23 MANNARINO, Adrian (FRA) 24 GASQUET, Richard (FRA) 25 NISHIKORI, Kei (JPN) 26 CHUNG, Hyeon (KOR) 27 KOHLSCHREIBER, Philipp (GER) 28 SHAPOVALOV, Denis (CAN) 29 DZUMHUR, Damir (BIH) 30 KRAJINOVIC, Filip (SRB) 31 CECCHINATO, Marco (ITA) 32 VERDASCO, Fernando (ESP) Ladies’ singles seedings 1 HALEP, Simona (ROU) 2 WOZNIACKI, Caroline (DEN) 3 MUGURUZA, Garbiñe (ESP) 4 STEPHENS, Sloane (USA) 5 SVITOLINA, Elina (UKR) 6 GARCIA, Caroline (FRA) 7 PLISKOVA, Karolina (CZE) 8 KVITOVA, Petra (CZE) 9 WILLIAMS, Venus (USA) 10 KEYS, Madison (USA) 11 KERBER, Angelique (GER) 12 OSTAPENKO, Jelena (LAT) 13 GOERGES, Julia (GER) 14 KASATKINA, Daria (RUS) 15 MERTENS, Elise (BEL) 16 VANDEWEGHE, Coco (USA) 17 BARTY, Ashleigh (AUS) 18 OSAKA, Naomi (JPN) 19 RYBARIKOVA, Magdalena (SVK) 20 BERTENS, Kiki (NED) 21 SEVASTOVA, Anastasija (LAT) 22 KONTA, Johanna (GBR) 23 STRYCOVA, Barbora (CZE) 24 SHARAPOVA, Maria (RUS) 25 WILLIAMS, Serena (USA) 26 GAVRILOVA, Daria (AUS) 27 SUAREZ NAVARRO, Carla (ESP) 28 KONTAVEIT, Anett (EST) 29 BUZARNESCU, Mihaela (ROU) 30 PAVLYUCHENKOVA, Anastasia (RUS) 31 ZHANG, Shuai (CHN) 32 RADWANSKA, Agnieszka (POL) Was this helpful? Thank you for your feedback. She attracted widespread comment on her all-black cat-suit, designed for fashion and health, she revealed later – an aid to help control muscle contractions she has suffered since giving birth to Olympia. Wimbledon, whose rules do not permit coloured clothing on court, require nine months’ notice of a player’s intended outfit, so there will be no catsuit on Centre Court this year – or whatever court the 36-year-old American finds herself on. She has not pressed loudly for a seeding but stated her case with quiet intelligence. “I think and I hope – and it should be under review – to change these rules, maybe not in time for me, but for the next person,” she said before knowing of the decision. “Maybe she’s 25 and she wants to have a baby, but she doesn’t want her career to be over. She wants to continue to play. So I think it’s important to have those rules.” The All England Club can sway between enlightenment and rigid discipline.