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Heading off controversy U.S. Open may double number of seeds in field to 32
PARIS (Reuters) -- A proposal to expand the number of seeds at the world's top tennis tournaments is expected to top the agenda at Thursday's meeting of the Grand Slam Committee. The United States Tennis Association is set to propose an increase in the number of seeded players in the singles at the U.S. Open from 16 to 32, according to the New York Times. A USTA official told the newspaper that the change was aimed at protecting top players and had about an 80 percent chance of being approved by the committee which governs how the four Grand Slam tournaments are run. Under a 32-player seeding system, top players would be less vulnerable in the first week to facing an opponent who was ranked highly but was unseeded. Wimbledon organizers, who scrapped their controversial seeding committee in April to stave off a players' revolt, said on Wednesday they were still considering how to resolve their problem over seedings. The grass court tournament which starts on June 25 will not adhere strictly to ATP rankings and is seeking a compromise to head off a possible boycott by clay-court specialists who believe they are badly treated when seedings are handed out. "Nothing has been decided yet," assistant referee Tony Gathecole said on Wednesday. "We expect to make an announcement next week during Queen's." One idea which has been floated is to place 32 players in the 128-strong draw, but still seed just 16. Last week at the French Open second seed Venus Williams was beaten by world No. 24 Barbara Schett of Austria. Yet ninth-seeded Elena Dementieva opened against and defeated Celine Beigbeder, who received a wild card and was ranked 373rd in the world. Wimbledon are eager to find a compromise somewhere between the old seeding committee, which rewarded grasscourt expertise, and the world rankings. Last year, top clay-courters Alex Corretja and Albert Costa withdrew on the eve of the event claiming it was unfair they had not been seeded because they had proved themselves over 12 months on the circuit. The committee had decided the Spaniards' lack of success on grass meant they should not be seeded. Wimbledon, the most prestigious tournament in the sport, is the only one of the four Grand Slams not to adhere strictly to the rankings when deciding men's seeds.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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