Wimbledon men's seedings: How they work, current tennis rankings, Wimbledon 2023 points

In 2021, a major change to the way Wimbledon seeding is decided saw an end to a system which bosses said had "served its time" for the men's singles draw.

For much of its history, the UK major had taken a different approach to seeding to the Australian, French and US slams, frequently leading to arguments during the preceding decades.

There is unlikely to be quite as much controversy this year, when home hero Andy Murray is among the players hoping to win a seeding.

How have the rules changed? Will the seedings match the rankings in 2023? Will ranking points return this time? Here's what you need to know.

How do the Wimbledon seedings work?

Wimbledon previously used a computer-based system favouring grass court results to decide the seedings, giving players who had gone far at SW19 the previous year an advantage.

That led to disgruntlement among some players. In 2000, top-20 stars Alex Corretja, Albert Costa and Juan Carlos Ferrero boycotted Wimbledon because they expected to receive seedings lower than their world rankings and wanted the ATP to act.

Announcing the abolition of the formula, the All England Club said in 2020 that their method would be based solely on rankings.

The change means that Wimbledon 2023 will be the third edition in which seedings will mirror world rankings.

MORE: When is the Wimbledon 2023 draw? Dates and schedule as Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek top the bill

Tennis rankings before Wimbledon 2023

The men's seedings at Wimbledon 2023 mirror the rankings with the exception of two withdrawals among the top 32.

World number 11 Karen Khachanov is out for a second successive year - this time because of a fracture to his pelvis - while 20th-ranked Pablo Carreno Busta has an elbow injury.

Nick Kyrgios, who reached the final in 2022, and Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina will be seeded in their places as the players ranked 33rd and 34th in the world.

There are two high-profile players who would have had a much stronger chance of being seeded under the previous rules, although one of them, Rafael Nadal, cannot participate in any case.

Nadal announced that he would not be defending his French Open title shortly before the start of the action at Roland-Garros in May because of a hip injury. It is uncertain when the tennis great will return, but he suggested that 2024 could be his last season in the professional game and he has fallen outside of the top 100 because of his inactivity.

The winner at Wimbledon in 2008 and 2010, Nadal has reached the final on three other occasions and lost in the semifinals three times, including 2022, when he was forced to withdraw from his scheduled showdown with Nick Kyrgios in the final four because of an abdominal injury.

MORE: Are Russians and Belarusians allowed to play at Wimbledon 2023? Latest tennis rules amid Ukraine war

2013 and 2016 champion Andy Murray needed a strong run at London tournament Queen's to earn enough points to be ranked inside the top 32 this year.

Unfortunately for the British sporting icon, he was knocked out in the round of 32 by Alex de Minaur – and Murray's ranking of 38 means he will not be seeded at Wimbledon unless a string of players above him in the rankings withdraw.

Confirmed men's Wimbledon seedings

As expected, Alcaraz is the top seed after he won at Queen's to return to top spot in time for the championships.

The highest ranked British players are 2022 semifinalist Cameron Norrie and world number 28 Dan Evans.

Will ranking points be awarded at Wimbledon 2023?

When Wimbledon introduced a ban on Russian and Belarusian players in 2022 because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the ATP and WTA responded by announcing that ranking points would not be awarded for that year's tournament.

That caused some players, such as former world number one Naomi Osaka, to admit that the decision had caused them to reconsider participating.

Players from those countries have been allowed to enter again this year, although they will be required to sign a declaration of neutrality, among a series of conditions imposed amid organisers continuing to condemn the war.

Rankings points will return. Players who reach the first round will receive 10 points, while the champions will amass 2,000.

Some observers suggested that Wimbledon was effectively an exhibition tournament in 2022 as a result of the removal of points to play for, although Murray, who was not seeded, argued on Twitter that the prestige and edge of the competition had not been eroded.

"I follow golf very closely and have no idea how many ranking points the winner of The Masters gets," said Murray. "Me and my friends love football and none of us know or care how many ranking points a team gets for winning the FIFA World Cup.

"But I could tell you exactly who won the World Cup and the Masters. I’d hazard a guess that most people watching on Centre Court at Wimbledon wouldn’t know or care about how many ranking points a player gets for winning a third-round match.

What’s making them nervous in my opinion is the possibility of winning a historic/prestigious event in the sport they love and have trained most of their life for not the thought of ranking points. I think the player field at Wimbledon will reflect this🙂 anyway congrats to all

— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) May 25, 2022

"But I guarantee they will remember who wins. Wimbledon will never be an exhibition and will never feel like an exhibition.

"I could be wrong but I don’t think any tennis player serving for a Slam title, any footballer taking a penalty in a World Cup shootout, or any golfer teeing off on the 18th hole of a major was thinking about ranking points.

"What’s making them nervous, in my opinion, is the possibility of winning a historic and prestigious event in the sport they love and have trained most of their life for, not the thought of ranking points. I think the player field at Wimbledon will reflect this."