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

The women's system at Wimbledon sees 32 players seeded before the start of the annual tournament at the All England Club.

No unseeded player has ever won the women's singles competition, although four unseeded players have reached the final.

Seeding had been based on computer rankings since 1975, but that changed in 2021 – two years after the men's system changed from a formula based on performances on different surfaces.

Will the list reflect the rankings in 2023? How will ranking points work at Wimbledon 2023? The Sporting News takes a look.

MORE: Australians at Wimbledon 2023: Results, schedule, scores, qualifying as Nick Kyrgios, Alex de Minaur prepare assault on All-England Club

How do the Wimbledon seedings work?

Organisers the All England Club admitted they had a "big decision" to make about all-time great Serena Williams in 2018, eventually placing the then-world number 449 as their 25th seed.

Williams had been out of the game since giving birth the previous year. There had also been speculation that two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray would be seeded in the men's competition, although bosses decided against that after considering the period of inactivity the Scot had been through because of injury.

"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," the Club told BBC Sport at the time.

Richard Lewis, the chief executive of the All England Club, added: "We take into account grass-court results from preceding years but the agreement we have with the ATP is based on computer formula."

When they announced the abolition of the formula in 2021, the All England Club said the method had "served its time" for the men's singles draw and also applied the ruling to the women's competition.

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

Tennis rankings before Wimbledon 2023

Fresh from winning the French Open, world number one Iga Swiatek is the top seed – but that doesn't make the Pole favourite, especially as she has never been beyond the fourth round in London.

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

Defending champion Elena Rybakina is seeded third but, on career form, is a stronger contender on grass than Swiatek.

Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, who will be the second seed and a strong contender, did not play at Wimbledon 2022 as part of a ban on players from her country and Russia because of the invasion of Ukraine.

Although they don't affect the seedings, there are examples further down the entry list of exceptions being made to include players in certain circumstances.

Former world number three and 2019 Wimbledon semifinalist Elina Svitolina is currently world number 75 and has been given a wildcard after taking part in a grand slam for the first time since giving birth when she played at the French Open.

Several British players have also been given wildcard entries based on past performances or because their inclusion is deemed to increase home interest in Wimbledon. 

Confirmed women's Wimbledon seedings

With no players in the top 32 withdrawing from Wimbledon 2023, the women's seedings for the competition are the same as the world rankings.

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."