LONDON: Five-time champion Venus Williams and four-time Grand Slam winner Kim Clijsters are unseeded at Wimbledon for the first time in more than a decade.
The tournament starts on Monday, with top-ranked defending champion Novak Djokovic heading the men’s list and Maria Sharapova leading the women’s – both for the first time.
The women’s list follows the WTA rankings, while the men’s has changes to reflect a player’s form on grass.
Williams, who played in eight Wimbledon finals, is unseeded for the first time since her debut at the All England Club in 1997. She has dropped to 55th in the rankings while dealing with Sjogren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disease that can cause fatigue and joint pain.
Sister Serena is seeded sixth, in line with her WTA ranking.
Williams has played only five tournaments this year, last appearing in the French Open, where she bowed out in the second round.
Clijsters, ranked 53rd, is unseeded for the first time since 2000. Since her Australian Open title defence ended in the semifinals in January, Clijsters has been limited by ankle and hip injuries. Twice a Wimbledon semifinalist, Clijsters intends to retire after the U.S. Open.
Former champion Lleyton Hewitt required a wild card, because of a ranking of 202, for the 10th anniversary of his victory at the All England Club. He hasn’t won consecutive matches since the Australian Open.
Andy Roddick, a three-time finalist, is ranked outside the seedings but was moved up to No. 30.
Djokovic is followed in the men’s seedings by two-time winner Rafael Nadal, six-time winner Roger Federer and Andy Murray.
Sharapova was seeded only 13th when she won Wimbledon in 2004. She was runner-up last year to Petra Kvitova, who will be fourth this year, while Victoria Azarenka is seeded No. 2. and Agnieszka Radwanska is third. (AP)