top seeds
Highest-ranked competitors
Top seeds are the highest-ranked competitors in a tournament, positioned in the bracket to avoid meeting each other until later rounds.
Seeding rewards strong records or rankings by preventing early elimination of favorites: The top seeds cruised through the first round.
In casual use, top seed can mean any heavy favorite: They're the top seed to win the contract.
- favoritesMost preferred choices
- championsContest winners, top performers
- contendersThose seeking to win
- defending championReturning victor seeking retention
- rankedAssigned relative position
premier · elite · hall of fame · grand slam · playoffs · majors · frontrunners · gold standard · player rankings · national champions · bracket · record holders · Olympic medalists · rising stars · tournament winners · athletics · Davis Cup · tennis legends
- competitorscompetitor, contestant, competitors, rivals, opponents
- sports starsall-stars, elite athletes, elite players, MVPs, superstars
- regional champions