Former no.1, Serena Williams is ranked 29th, up from her previous standing of 175th in July, it was a dramatic improvement after she returned to the tour following nearly a year absence due to health problems.
Williams leads active women with 13 major championships to her credit, including three at Flushing Meadows, in 1999, 2002 and 2008.
She recently won consecutive hard-court tuneup tournaments at Stanford and Toronto, making her one of the favorites to win the U.S. Open, which starts next Monday.
Two-time reigning U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters, who is ranked No. 3, will miss the tournament this year with a stomach muscle injury. Fourth-ranked Maria Sharapova, the 2006 champion in New York, moves up to third in the seedings.
Top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki, the 2009 U.S. Open runner-up, is also No. 1 in the women’s singles seedings announced Tuesday, followed by Vera Zvonareva, last year’s losing finalist.
Her older sister Venus Williams, a five-time Wimbledon champion, is not seeded at all for the U.S. Open, which she won in 2000 and 2001; she is ranked 36th.
