[RendeR]

MIJB: While seedings CAN == ranking it is not always the case and it is not a rule that it be so. It generally happens that way because its the simplest solution but there is no rule or regulation making it so.

For example last summer Serene Williams was a #1 seed at a prepertory tournament to the US open, she was ranked 5th or 6th I believe at that time, perhaps lower now that I think about it. There were 3 players above her in the rankings in the same tournament, so if they went by rankings she would have at best been seeded 4th.

The tournament wanted her #1 because she had won that tournament the year before and she is a huge ticket seller.


Another note on the actual positioning of the seeds: In your examples you are assuming a MUCH greater difference in skill level between 1 and 8. Anyone who reaches the top 15-20 in the USTA rankings could easily be #1 and can and probably has beaten the Top players at some point.

The idea that 1 should play 8 is rather irrelevent to making sure they get a good misture of matches year round.

Also the randomness isn't as extreme as you might think either.

Normally 1, 3, 5,7 ate top hjalf seeds and the even numbers are bottom half. The way the USTA rules set things up 3 and 4 get decided randomly top half, bottom half, in the spot that either number should be in anyway.

So basiacally all thats happening is the lowers seeds are flipping a coin to see if they could face #1 or #2 at some point during the tournament.