Where Should Serena Williams Be Seeded at the 2011 U.S. Open?
There was much debate in the weeks leading up to the 2011 U.S. Open regarding if/where Serena Williams would/should be seeded. There are implications for both Serena, as well as the other players in the draw. Based on her strong summer results, which included
titles at the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford University and the Rogers Cup in Toronto, Serena’s ranking rose to twenty-ninth. Therefore, based on Kim Clijsters’ withdrawal due to injury, Serena had (already) earned a twenty-eighth seed without any changes by the USTA. In the end, the USTA decided to follow the rankings and so Serena is the twenty-eighth seed. Is that fair? Appropriate?
Unlike Wimbledon, which has adjusted the seedings at times, the U.S. Open has rarely made that change. Since the draw acceptances were determined many weeks ago, Serena is actually in the main draw based on her injury-protected ranking of Number One. However, you can’t place Serena as the Number One or Two seed because although she won a couple summer tournaments, others played well for the past year to earn their rankings. At the same time, Serena is the favorite based on the strength of her recent tennis form. Therefore, it is surprising that the USTA did not choose to place Serena in the eighth spot, which seemed like the best compromise for all involved players. With her twenty-eighth seeding, Serena is slated to face Victoria Azarenka in the third round so it appears Vika is the one got the “short-end” of the stick, but we’ll see how it all unfolds…
Unlike Wimbledon, which has adjusted the seedings at times, the U.S. Open has rarely made that change. Since the draw acceptances were determined many weeks ago, Serena is actually in the main draw based on her injury-protected ranking of Number One. However, you can’t place Serena as the Number One or Two seed because although she won a couple summer tournaments, others played well for the past year to earn their rankings. At the same time, Serena is the favorite based on the strength of her recent tennis form. Therefore, it is surprising that the USTA did not choose to place Serena in the eighth spot, which seemed like the best compromise for all involved players. With her twenty-eighth seeding, Serena is slated to face Victoria Azarenka in the third round so it appears Vika is the one got the “short-end” of the stick, but we’ll see how it all unfolds…
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