Former Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska has voiced her opposition to reducing the number of seeds in grand slam tournaments during an exclusive interview with Sport 360.
Last month, the Grand Slam board and ITF president David Haggerty outlined a series of new rules that will be implemented in the sport. One of those include the reduction of seeded players from 32 to 16. Something that hasn’t occurred in major events since 2001. According to The WTA Tour, the 32-seed system has had little impact on if unseeded players reach latter rounds. Something that is also applicable to the men’s tour.
Speaking about the rule change, which will start from 2019, Radwanska has questioned the fairness of the new system. Under the 16-seed system, it is possible that a top five player could face somebody ranked inside the top 25 in the first round.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea to be honest. I don’t know why they changed that. I don’t know what’s wrong with what we’ve had so far,” Radwanska told Sport360.
“I think some of the rules are changing because something needs to be changed, even when something is good, they’re still making changes. I think having 32 seeds was good. These are Grand Slams, so why do you have to play someone ranked 17 in the world in the first round instead of the fourth round?
“I’m not sure if that’s fair, especially that you work really hard to be seeded, including those seeded 16 to 32, so I’m not sure that’s a good rule.”
Radwanska is currently ranked 28th in the world and would not be seeded under the new system. The Pole has encountered a roller coaster year on the tour and has struggled with injury. Failing to win a single WTA title for the first time since 2010. She has only managed to reach the semifinals or better at two tournaments in Brisbane and New Haven.
Federer’s support
Besides Radwanska, other players have welcomed the change. 19-time grand slam champion Roger Federer told reporters during the ATP Finals that it will make tournaments more exciting.
“That’s how it used to be when I came up, way back when,” Federer said. “There’s definitely something intriguing about having 16 seeds. I do see the problem of the 32 seeds, plus you have eight seeds who get byes at Masters 1000 [events].”
One example of a high-profile first round match occurred at this year’s US Open, when Maria Sharapova took on Simona Halep. Sharapova was unseeded in the tournament due to her 15-month absence from the tour due to a doping ban. The match was undoubtedly a hit for fans is New York, but Radwanska herself has voiced her concerns.
“Maybe that was good for TV and everybody was excited about this kind of first round (Halep v Sharapova). But for them, I don’t think they were happy about that. Even the winner, nobody wants to have that kind of first round.” She said.
The reintroduction of the 16-seed system will start at the 2019 Australian Open. It will be the first time the seeding method has been used since the 2001 French Open.
