PARIS -- Martina Hingis, ranked No. 1 in the world and
seeking her first French Open title, will be the top seeded player
in the Grand Slam event that begins next week.
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French Open women's seeds
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1. Martina Hingis, Switzerland
2. Venus Williams, U.S.
3. Lindsay Davenport, U.S.
4. Jennifer Capriati, U.S.
5. Amelie Mauresmo, France
6. Monica Seles, U.S.
7. Serena Williams, U.S.
8. Elena Dementieva, Russia
9. Conchita Martinez, Spain
10. Nathalie Tauziat, France
11. A. Coetzer, South Africa
12. A. Sanchez-Vicario, Spain
13. Kim Clijsters, Belgium
14. Magdalena Maleeva, Bulgaria
15. Justine Henin, Belgium
16. Jelena Dokic, Yugoslavia
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Venus Williams will be seeded second, followed by
fellow-American Lindsay Davenport. Players are seeded based on the
latest WTA Tour world rankings.
Jennifer Capriati, who opened the Grand Slam season by winning
the Australian Open, will be seeded fourth. Last year, the
25-year-old Capriati was beaten in the first round of the French,
but was a semifinalist at Roland Garros in 1990.
Amelie Mauresmo of France will be seeded fifth, followed by
three-time French Open champion Monica Seles and Serena Williams.
Defending champion Mary Pierce withdrew Wednesday with a back
injury. Pierce, who made the announcement after a first-round loss
in the Strasbourg Open, is bothered by a "chronic inflammation of
the lumbar spine," a WTA statement said.
"I am deeply disappointed and sad to be unable to defend my
title," Pierce, ranked No. 17 in the world, said in a statement.
Hingis, 20, has won Wimbledon, the U.S. and
Australian opens but not the French Open, the only Grand Slam event
played on clay. The Swiss star lost in the French finals in 1997
and '98, and has not won a Grand Slam event since the 1999
Australian Open.
Hingis is off to a shaky start on clay this year, losing in the
semis of the Italian and German opens -- both times to Mauresmo.
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