Jon Wertheim: Reviewing Wimbledon's seeding procedures, more mailbag

Serena Williams, who won Wimbledon in 2012, will likely open on Centre Court on Tuesday.

GLYN KIRK/Getty Images

A quick pre-Wimbledon mailbag...

First, we're starting to get questions and tweets about Wimbledon's seeding. We can debate whether tournaments should depart from rankings and take surface aptitude into account (I think it's fine), but let's be clear: this is NOT subjective. There are no conspiracies. It is a transparent formula. In fact, here it is:

Men -- The seeds are the top 32 players on the ATP Ranking list, BUT then rearranged on a surface-based system. Since 2002 a seeding committee has not been required for the Gentlemen's Singles following an agreement made with the ATP. The seeding order is determined using an objective and transparent system to reflect more accurately an individual player's grass court achievements: The formula is:

Take the ATP Ranking points at June 16, 2014 Add 100 percent of the points earned for all grass court tournaments in the past 12 months Add 75 percent of the points earned for the best grass court tournament in the 12 months before that.

Ladies -- The seeding order follows the WTA ranking list, except where in the opinion of the committee, a change is necessary to produce a balanced draw.

NGUYEN: Can Murray repeat? Will Nadal make it past round two? More Wimbledon burning questions

Since Marion Bartoli retired, who will open play on Centre Court the opening Tuesday? Serena, because she was the 2012 champion? -- @pacopowell

To rephrase: The defending women's champ christens play on Centre Court on the first Tuesday of Wimbledon. However this year, the defending champ, Marion Bartoli, is retired, busy commentating, being her pleasant self, selling crafts on Etsy and generally living the good life. Who gets her slot? The good folks at the All England Club explained to us that they have a few choices: the slot can go to the champion two years ago, the current top seed or most recent finalist. Given that Serena Williams meets two of those three criteria, the guess is that she gets the call.

Visit link:
Jon Wertheim: Reviewing Wimbledon's seeding procedures, more mailbag