Venus Williams, a five-time champion at the Wimbledon Championships, surprisingly did not get a seeding in this year’s grasscourt Slam event. Meanwhile, four-time Grand Slam winner Kim Clijsters was also not given a seeding in this tournament.
When the seedings were announced on Wednesday, analysts predict that these two former top-ranked female stars will get a seeding. However, the organizers have opted to stick with the WTA rankings.
Williams is unseeded for the first time since her debut at the All England Club in 1997. She’s contested eight Wimbledon Ladies’ Singles final, winning five and losing the other three to younger sister Serena Williams. Her ranking is not high enough to merit the seeding at 55. She’s currently dealing with a medical condition called Sjogren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disease that can cause joint pain and fatigue. Despite this, the American star stated that she still intends to continue competing in the sport.
Clijsters, a semifinalist at the Australian Open in January, has been hampered with ankle and hip injuries. She’s opted to skip the entire claycourt season to concentrate at the grasscourt season which includes the Olympics 2012 tennis tournament which will also take place in Wimbledon.
The two-time Wimbledon semifinalist announced earlier this year that she intends to retire for good after the US Open 2012 tournament.
