Pre-Wimbledon: Planting the Seeds of Greatness

As we watch our favorite WTA players warm up on grass courts across Europe, keeping a constant eye on news is a must. Kim Clijsters is out, Serena Williams is back, and a handful of former stars look to be surging. Most importantly, however, is the announcement of the official Wimbledon 2011 seeds—a list that both fans and players wait for anxiously before each and every Wimbledon. 

For those who don't know, Wimbledon is the only grand slam tournament to seed competitors differently than their world ranking. What does this mean? Powerhouse players like Serena Williams can be boosted in the seeding so they don't matchup with other big names too early in the draw. That does not, however, mean the top seeds are safe... We have unseeded players like Sabine Lisicki, one of this year's wildcards, who could wind up facing just about anyone to start the tournament. How would Wozniacki or Zvonareva handle that? 


Regardless, we're in for an interesting tournament at the All-Englad Club. Serena has been moved to seed 7, meaning she can't face a top seed until the quarter finals, while her sister, Venus, is still seeded 23 and could have an earlier big-name slug fest. The most recent victor over Venus Williams and world no.1-slayer, Hantuchova, is seeded 25 and could have another shot at knocking out a high seed in the third or fourth round. Look out for predictions, reactions and much more when the official draw is released, but until then, enjoy the seeds listed below.

2011 Wimbledon Women's Singles:
       1) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 
     2) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) 
     3) Na LI (CHN) 
     4) Victoria Azarenka (BLR)
     5) Maria Sharapova (RUS) 
     6) Francesca Schiavone (ITA)
     7) Serena Williams (USA) 
     8) Petra Kvitova (CZE) 
     9) Marion Bartoli (FRA) 
     10) Samantha Stosur (AUS) 
     11) Andrea Petkovic (GER)
     12) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)

     13) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) 
     14) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) 
     15) Jelena Jankovic (SRB)
     16) Julia Goerges (GER)

     17) Kaia Kanepi (EST)

     18) Ana Ivanovic (SRB)

     19) Yanina Wickmayer (BEL)

     20) Shuai Peng (CHN) 

     21) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) 

     22) Shahar Peer (ISR) 
     23) Venus Williams (USA) 
     24) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) 

     25) Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) 

     26) Maria Kirilenko (RUS) 

     27) Jarmila Gajdosova (AUS) 

     28) Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) 

     29) Roberta Vinci (ITA) 
     30) Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) 

     31) Lucie Safarova (CZE)

     32) Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL)


-Kedzie Teller, ITB Senior Editor