<P> A seed is a competitor or team in a sport or other tournament who is given a preliminary ranking for the purposes of the draw . Players / teams are `` planted '' into the bracket in a manner that is typically intended so that the best do not meet until later in the competition . The term was first used in tennis , and is based on the idea of laying out a tournament ladder by arranging slips of paper with the names of players on them the way seeds or seedlings are arranged in a garden : smaller plants up front , larger ones behind . </P>
where does the word seed come from in sports
on the idea of laying out a tournament ladder by arranging slips of paper with the names of players on them the way seeds or seedlings are arranged in a garden : smaller plants up front , larger ones behind