Serena Williams 25th seed for Wimbledon despite being outside top 32 in rankings.

Seven-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams is the 25th seed for this year’s tournament, despite being outside the top 32 in the rankings.

The 36-year-old American is continuing her return to action after giving birth to her first child in September.

Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles winner, has played only three tournaments in the past 12 months and she is ranked 183rd in the world.

Simona Halep is the top seed, with Roger Federer her counterpart in the men’s draw.

Federer is seeded a place higher than his world ranking, with world number one Rafael Nadal the second seed.

With the exception of Williams, all the other women are seeded in line with their WTA ranking.

Williams is seeded one place lower than Maria Sharapova, who she was due to meet in the fourth round of the French Open before pulling out because of injury. Her sister Venus is the ninth seed.

Because of different rules in the two draws, Andy Murray cannot be seeded because he sits outside the top 32 in the rankings.

Britain’s three-time Grand Slam champion is returning from a hip injury.

How do the seedings work?

The Wimbledon seedings for the men are determined by the ATP ranking list of the top 32 players, but can be rearranged based on an individual’s grass-court record.

Ranking points are counted from competition in the two years running up to the tournament.

For the women’s game, the seeding order follows the WTA ranking list, but the All England Club reserves the right to make a change if it “is necessary to produce a balanced draw”. In 2017, no changes were made.

Williams will not have to face another seeded player before the third round, but at that stage should expect to run into one of the top eight in the world. So the protection a seeding offers her will be limited.

Cibulkova’s view that the decision is unfair is shared – both privately and publicly – by very many WTA players, so the All England Club’s decision will not be universally popular.

But the committee clearly feel Williams is a unique case: an extraordinary champion who has only been able to play three events in the past year after giving birth to her first child in September.

As well as Nadal and Federer switching places at the top of the rankings, Marin Cilic moves up to number three and Novak Djokovic is up five to 12.

Milos Raonic is this week’s highest climber – up from 32 to 13.

Source: BBC