How did the word 'seed' come about in tennis?

Answer 1

A "seed" is a player who is "planted" (i.e., arranged or selected) into the "draw" (i.e., order of play) for a given tournament. The "seeding" process usually involves taking the highest-ranked or rated players, first, followed by lower-ranked players, followed by "wild-card" and "qualifying" players (i.e., those whose rank or rating is not sufficient enough to be considered along with the aforementioned ratings). Certain lower "seeds" might be placed higher than other, more qualified, players, or otherwise arranged, if the tournament directors deem them to be worthy based on their popularity with the public (i.e., box office draw) or if the directors want to arrange a particularly interesting match. A player who has been selected to play in the "main" (i.e., non-qualifying) draw, is said to be a "seeded" player.