TopSeed calculates tournament seeding deterministically from each entrant's Normalized rating—a standardized 0.1 to 10.0 value derived from their provider rating. Tournament directors review the seeding order in Ask AI, apply manual overrides or team separations if needed, and approve the snapshot before generating brackets.

The seeding algorithm and Normalized ratings

To seed tournaments fairly across different rating providers, TopSeed converts all verified entrant ratings into a shared scale:

• Rating conversion. Provider ratings are converted at registration into a Normalized rating between 0.1 and 10.0 with one decimal place. Unrated entrants receive a 0 rating and sort after all rated participants.
• Provider prioritization. When an entrant holds ratings from multiple systems, TopSeed applies a deterministic hierarchy:
  • Tennis: UTR takes precedence, followed by WTN, then USTA NTRP.
  • Pickleball: DUPR takes precedence, followed by UTR-P.
• Sorting contract. Entrants are sorted by Normalized rating descending. When two entrants share identical ratings, the tie is broken stably by entrant registration ID ascending (RATING_DESC_ID_ASC).

Doubles and team entrant calculations

In doubles and team events, individual player ratings are aggregated into a single entrant score:

• Summed ratings. The entrant unit rating is the exact sum of both teammates' Normalized ratings, rather than an average.
• Example. Partner 1 has a Normalized rating of 3.2 and Partner 2 has a Normalized rating of 4.1. The doubles team receives an aggregate rating of 7.3 for seeding.

Summing ratings maintains precision and properly accounts for combined strength when one-decimal ratings tie.

Reviewing and overriding seeds with Ask AI

Organizers review and refine seeding through Ask AI:

1. Open Ask AI on your event page and request to review seeding for your draw (such as "Show seeding for Men's 4.0 Singles").
2. Ask AI displays the ranked seeding order, listing seed numbers, player names, and ratings.
3. If adjustments are needed, issue commands in chat:
   • Swap positions. E.g., "Swap seed 1 and seed 2."
   • Move a player. E.g., "Set Jordan as seed 3."
   • Unseed an entrant. E.g., "Remove seed from player 4."
   • Separate entrants. Request to keep teammates from the same club or region on opposite halves of the bracket.
   • Reset order. E.g., "Reset seeds to rating order" to clear custom adjustments.

Approving seeding and fingerprint protection

Before brackets can be generated, seeding must be formally approved:

1. Tell Ask AI to approve the seeding (e.g., "Approve seeding").
2. TopSeed computes a cryptographic fingerprint covering the entrant roster, ratings, seed assignments, and version data, saving an immutable snapshot.
3. If an entrant registers, withdraws, or updates their rating between your review and approval, TopSeed catches the mismatch (APPROVED_FINGERPRINT_MISMATCH) and prompts you to review the updated order before locking.