Wimbledon criticised by McNamee as Djokovic not top seed due to ATP Rankings dictating: "Not a good look"

Paul McNamee criticized the fact that Novak Djokovic is not the top seed at Wimbledon following Carlos Alcaraz's rise.

Djokovic is the defending champion and has won the title in the last four editions, maintaining a perfect 28-0 record since 2018. His last defeat at Wimbledon was in the third round against Sam Querrey in 2016. In 2017, he had to retire while trailing 6-7, 0-2 against Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals.

For many years, Wimbledon had a specific system to determine the seedings, taking into account players' performance on the grass courts of London in addition to their ranking. Since 2021, it was decided to consider only the ATP ranking to avoid confusion, which now benefits Alcaraz after his victory at the Queen's Club Championship and reclaiming the world No. 1 ranking.

While Alcaraz expressed his satisfaction with being the top seed, he emphasized that it doesn't make a significant difference in the draw whether he is the first or second seed. Paul McNamee shared his opinion on the seedings order:

“Pundits point out no difference in being seeded 1 or 2. Technically, that's true. But ask any player if they like to see their name at the top of the draw? Due to the aberration of not awarding points last year, Djokovic will not head the Wimbledon men’s draw. For me, not a good look,” he said.

The sanction imposed on Wimbledon in 2021, which prevented the distribution of points, had a strong impact on players who achieved a good result. For example, Rybakina, who was the champion, remained outside the top-10 for several months, and Djokovic, who would now be at the top of the ranking, was also affected.