Top-ranked Serena Williams has become only the fifth player to be named top seed for the U.S. Open on five occasions.
The six-time champion at Flushing Meadows goes into the final Grand Slam of the year still on top of the women's game, although Angelique Kerber is closing the points gap.
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Williams joins Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf and Martina Hingis in being top-seeded five times for the tournament in New York.
She goes into the competition looking to surpass Graf with a 23rd Grand Slam singles title, while a seventh U.S. Open triumph would see her overtake Evert as the most successful player in the tournament's history.
Kerber occupies the second spot on the seedings list, with Garbine Muguruza, Agnieszka Radwanska and Simona Halep completing the top five. Venus Williams is seeded sixth after her 2016 resurgence.
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Novak Djokovic heads the men's competition as he looks to bounce back from disappointments at Wimbledon and the Rio Olympics, the Serb having to watch Andy Murray take both titles.
Murray, the 2012 U.S. Open champion, saw his best unbeaten record end in Cincinnati recently but he will be keen to complete a memorable year with a fourth career Grand Slam title.
Olympic absentee Stan Wawrinka is the third seed in the absence of Roger Federer. Fourteen-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal and Wimbledon runner-up Milos Raonic round out the top five.