Wimbledon will do away with its controversial seedings policy, which has come under criticism for the last few years, for the men’s singles event starting from the 2021 edition. However, the method of seedings will be followed for women’s singles draw.
The seeding policy that has been in effect since 2002, used a special formula combining ranking points with form in grass-court competitions to decide the seeds. This had meant that Roger Federer was seeded above Rafael Nadal in the 2019 edition and the Spaniard had termed the decision as disrespectful.
Even former champion Serena Williams was seeded 25th in the 2019 edition a few months after returning from her maternity break and opinion was divided among players about the call taken by the organisers.
Though the women’s singles seedings system would remain unchanged, it seems the organisers had to finally give in to the pressure from men’s players.
“Since last year’s Championships, we have also taken the time to give consideration to the evolution of the sport and the mechanisms of allocating seeding for The Championships,” the All England Lawn Tennis Club, which organises the tournament, announced on its website.
The statement further added: “Given the quality of competition, entertainment and modern grass courts, following detailed discussion with the player groups, the AELTC has decided that the grass court seeding formula used since 2002 has served its time, and from The Championships 2021 seeding for the Gentlemen’s singles draw will be based solely on ranking. There will be no change to the method of seeding for the Ladies’ singles draw,”