Serena Williams got a bit of a boost in the seedings for the US Open by being placed at No 17, nine spots above her current ranking.
The US Tennis Association's decision, announced on Tuesday along with all the other seeds for the main draws of women's and men's singles, means Williams avoids a possible matchup against one of the top eight players in the third round.
It also sets up a possible matchup at that stage against her older sister, Venus, who is No 16, her ranking this week.
Indeed, all of the other seeds — 32 women, 32 men — were positioned based on the WTA and ATP rankings, as usual.
This will be the third Grand Slam tournament of Williams' return to competition since her daughter was born during the 2017 US Open last September. Williams dealt with health complications from childbirth, including dangerous blood clots.
The USTA already had said in June that it would institute a policy that would take into account if a pregnancy affected a player's ranking. The issue arose when Williams — a 23-time major champion and former No 1 — was not seeded when she returned to action at the French Open in May, her first Grand Slam tournament in nearly 1½ years. She was, however, seeded at Wimbledon, put at No 25 while ranked 183rd.
Williams wound up as the runner-up at the All England Club, losing to Angelique Kerber there last month. The run to the final allowed Williams to rise to No 28.