Seedings play a key role at Grand Slams, as they ensure top players avoid facing each other until at least the third round. Sabalenka, who won last year’s US Open by defeating Jessica Pegula, enters this year as the number one seed.
One notable absentee from the seeded group is Emma Raducanu. Despite a return to strong form and climbing to 35th in the world rankings, she missed out by just one spot, with the cutoff set at the top 32. Withdrawals from Qinwen Zheng and Paula Badosa allowed lower-ranked players to move up, but Raducanu still fell short, making her the highest-ranked unseeded player in the tournament.
The 2021 US Open champion has shown encouraging performances recently, including competitive matches against world number one Sabalenka at Wimbledon and the Cincinnati Open. However, she will enter the draw unseeded, which increases the chance of facing a top opponent early in the competition.
British fans will also be disappointed to learn that no player from the UK is seeded in the women’s singles. Alongside Raducanu, Katie Boulter (ranked 48th) and Sonay Kartal (ranked 51st) also missed out. Kartal impressed at Wimbledon with a fourth-round run but has struggled in recent tournaments, while Boulter has faced early exits in multiple events since Wimbledon.
