Carlos Alcaraz Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek have been named as top seeds for next week's Wimbledon tennis championship.
However Pole Swiatek's unease on grass means defending champion Elena Rybakina will be the one to beat at the Grand Slam while big-hitting Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka will also fancy her chances.
Swiatek inherited the world number one ranking when Ash Barty retired in April 2022 and while she has proved a worthy successor to the Australian the majority of her success has come on hardcourts and clay.
The 22-year-old has won three French Open titles, a U.S. Open crown and reached the Australian Open semi-finals but has failed to progress beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon.
World number two Sabalenka, a 2021 semi-finalist, returns to the All England Club after organisers lifted a ban on Russian and Belarusian players.
Wimbledon banned players from the two countries last year over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation".
Moscow-born Kazakh Rybakina, who won at Indian Wells and reached the Australian Open and Miami finals, missed out on ranking points from her Wimbledon win last year after the Grand Slam was penalised for its ban on Russian and Belarusian players.
She pulled out of a warm-up event in Eastbourne today, saying she was still recovering from a virus that forced her to withdraw from the French Open.
The trio, dubbed the new 'Big Three', will have to fight off a challenge from Tunisian trailblazer Ons Jabeur, who will bid to become the first African woman and Arab player to win a Grand Slam singles title after reaching last year's Wimbledon and U.S. Open finals.
Meanwhile Novak Djokovic will bid to win a men's record-extending 24th Grand Slam crown but while the Serb has won the last four titles at the All England Club he will be seeded second behind Alcaraz.
Djokovic drew level with Rafa Nadal on 22 majors by winning the Australian Open and moved ahead of the injured Spaniard when he claimed the French Open.
Victory in London would see Djokovic match Roger Federer's record of eight Wimbledon titles but he faces a strong challenge from Alcaraz, who reclaimed the world number one ranking from the Serb by winning the Queen's Club title yesterday.
Russian Daniil Medvedev will be the third seed and compatriot Andrey Rublev seventh, as both players return to Wimbledon after organisers lifted a ban on players from Russia and Belarus.
Iga Swiatek Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Men's seedings for the singles tournament at Wimbledon are based on world rankings, which are as follows:
1 - Carlos Alcaraz (Spain)
2 - Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
3 - Daniil Medvedev (Russia)
4 - Casper Ruud (Norway)
5 - Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece)
6 - Holger Rune (Denmark)
7 - Andrey Rublev (Russia)
8 - Jannik Sinner (Italy)
9 - Taylor Fritz (U.S.)
10 - Frances Tiafoe (U.S.)
11 - Karen Khachanov (Russia)
12 - Felix Auger-Aliassime (Canada)
13 - Cameron Norrie (Britain)
14 - Borna Coric (Croatia)
15 - Lorenzo Musetti (Italy)
16 - Alex de Minaur (Australia)
17 - Tommy Paul (U.S.)
18 - Hubert Hurkacz (Poland)
19 - Francisco Cerundolo (Argentina)
20 - Pablo Carreno Busta (Spain)
21 - Alexander Zverev (Germany)
22 - Jan-Lennard Struff (Germany)
23 - Roberto Bautista Agut (Spain)
24 - Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria)
25 - Sebastian Korda (U.S.)
26 - Alexander Bublik (Kazakhstan)
27 - Yoshihito Nishioka (Japan)
28 - Nicolas Jarry (Chile)
29 - Denis Shapovalov (Canada)
30 - Daniel Evans (Britain)
31 - Tallon Griekspoor (Netherlands)
32 - Tomas Martin Etcheverry (Argentina)
Women's seedings:
1 - Iga Swiatek (Poland)
2 - Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus)
3 - Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan)
4 - Jessica Pegula (U.S.)
5 - Caroline Garcia (France)
6 - Ons Jabeur (Tunisia)
7 - Coco Gauff (U.S.)
8 - Maria Sakkari (Greece)
9 - Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic)
10 - Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic)
11 - Daria Kasatkina (Russia)
12 - Veronika Kudermetova (Russia)
13 - Beatriz Haddad Maia (Brazil)
14 - Belinda Bencic (Switzerland)
15 - Liudmila Samsonova (Russia)
16 - Karolina Muchova (Czech Republic)
17 - Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia)
18 - Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic)
19 - Victoria Azarenka (Belarus)
20 - Donna Vekic (Croatia)
21 - Ekaterina Alexandrova (Russia)
22 - Anastasia Potapova (Russia)
23 - Magda Linette (Poland)
24 - Zheng Qinwen (China)
25 - Madison Keys (U.S.)
26 - Anhelina Kalinina (Ukraine)
27 - Bernarda Pera (U.S.)
28 - Elise Mertens (Belgium)
29 - Irina-Camelia Begu (Romania)
30 - Petra Martic (Croatia)
31 - Mayar Sherif (Egypt)
32 - Marie Bouzkova (Czech Republic)
-Reuters