The Importance of Rankings

Today's results at the French Open illustrate the importance of seeding.

Chances are that no one but Justine Henin or Maria Sharapova could have defeated Serena Williams in this tournament. She had to be considered one of the favorites.

But Serena's seeding of #8 put her into a match with the No. 1 seed in the quarterfinal round. If Serena had been seeded in the top four, that wouldn't have happened.

Seeds are placed in the draw so that the #1 and the #2 or #3 seeds cannot meet until the final.

Considering Serena's world ranking of #8 (on the way back up from the depths in the 80's recently), you can't fault the seeding. But this shows why rankings, and playing enough tournaments to maintain your highest possible ranking, matters: it often determines what round you reach in a tournament.

That said, to her credit, Serena isn't happy with anything less than winning the tournament, of course. So, if you're going to have to beat Justine Henin or Maria Sharapova to win it, it doesn't matter what round you defeat them in.

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