How do Tennis rankings work?
Table of contents
Whether it is on the men’s ATP Tour or the women’s WTA tour, rankings play a massively important part throughout the tennis year.
Rankings are used not only as a judge of player ability and performance at any given time, they also form the basis for seedings used to rank players at tournaments. This then decides their current and potential future opponents throughout tournaments on both top-level tours.
While the importance of rankings are well-understood, how a players ranking is worked out is more of a mystery.
So in this post, we will explore how the ranking system works for both the ATP and WTA tours, explaining how players can move up and down the rankings and why certain tournaments are worth potentially more ranking points and positions to a player than some others.
While the points and ranking system used in the ATP and WTA tours is very similar, there are some minor differences between the two.
ATP Rankings System
The number of points a player accrues in the ATP Rankings are based on their best performances across 20 tournaments taken from the preceding 52 weeks of action.
The 20 Tournaments are theoretically based on performances in the following events (assuming a player plays in all the tournaments listed below):
- The Four Grand Slam Tournaments
- The Eight Mandatory ATP Masters 1000 Tournaments
- The Previous ATP Tour Final Points
- The Seven Best Performances from any other ATP Tour Events (ATP 500, 250, Challenger Tour, Futures Tour events etc) they compete in
Missing Events
However, suppose a player misses certain events, such as a Grand Slam event or one or more of the Mandatory Masters tournaments, or didn’t qualify for the previous ATP Tour Finals. In that case, their 20 tournaments will be made up of more of their better performances in other ATP Tour Events.
Points Awarded per Tournament Type
Points are awarded for each tournament a player competes in based on how far they go in a tournament. The further they go, the more points they will be awarded.
The maximum number of points that can be awarded for the winner of each tournament type is as follows:
- Grand Slam (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon or US Open) - 2,000 Points
- ATP Finals - 1,500 points (maximum)
- ATP Masters 1000 Event - 1,000 points
- ATP 500 Event - 500 points
- ATP 250 Event - 250 points
Other lower-prestige Challenger Tour or Futures Tour events can offer a smaller number of ranking points for winners ranging from 175 points to 15 points.
Current Men’s ATP Ranking Points Calculator
Based on the tournaments a male player has played in, their ranking point score is calculated for the year and then the players are ranked based on the points total.
Points awarded for a player's performance remain for 52 weeks before they are removed, replaced with the points from either a more recent event, or one of their best performances not previously included in the players top 20 events.
This is why you will sometimes hear commentators referring to a player ‘defending points’ that they received from the tournament they competed in last year.
Each male player's points total is updated every week and as such, the total constantly changes based on the points won in tournaments just played, and those lost in tournaments that now fall beyond the 52-week deadline for the ranking points to count.
As such, players that play in the top-ranking events and can win or reach the latter stages of these events, as well as reaching the ATP Tour finals and competing in ATP 500 and 250 events, winning a few, will rank highest each year.
WTA Rankings System
The Women’s WTA Rankings system is also based on a 52-week cycle, but instead of the top 20 tournament performances, the women’s rankings are based on performances in 18 tournaments.
Theoretically, the 18 tournaments that will comprise a player rankings would comprise of the following events.
- Four Grand Slams (Australian, French, US Opens and Wimbledon)
- Six WTA 1000 Mandatory combined/virtually combined tournaments
- One WTA 1000 Mandatory (WTA-only) tournament
- Best of seven results from any other WTA 1000 Mandatory, WTA 500, WTA 250, and WTA 125 Tournaments and ITF W15+ events
- The WTA Finals are included as a bonus tournament if the player qualified and competed
Missing Events
As is the case with the men’s ranking system for the ATP Tour, if a woman’s player misses a Grand Slam WTA Mandatory combined or WTA-only tournament, then their 18 tournaments will be comprised of their best performances in other WTA tournaments to make up the 18.
Points Awarded Per Tournament Type
The points awarded for performances in the different levels of WTA events are very similar to those awarded in the men’s ATP rankings, with just a couple of differences.
- Grand Slam (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon or US Open) - 2,000 Points
- WTA Finals - 1,500 points (maximum)
- WTA 1000 Event - 1,000 points
- WTA Elite Trophy - 700 points
- WTA 500 Event - 500 points
- WTA 250 Event - 250 points
- WTA 125 Event - 125 points
Additionally, women players can earn ranking points from any of the less prestigious W15 to W100 tournaments.
Current WTA Women’s Tour Ranking Points Calculator
The calculation for the women’s WTA tour is almost the same as the men’s for the ATP tour, apart from the women’s ranking points are based on the top 18 tournaments (rather than 20) with additional points awarded for participation in the WTA FInals (which makes 19 tournaments for the qualified players).
As with the men's rankings, points last for 52-weeks and are removed once the calendar year has passed. Rankings are always based on the 18 best performances in a 52-week period.
How the Rankings System Works - An Example
Outlined below are simple examples of how the ranking system works for both the men's and women’s tours using two theoretical performances in the Australian Open as an example.
ATP Tour
- Jannik Sinner - 10,000 points total heading into the Australian Open
- Won Australian Open in 2024 (2,000 points defended)
- Is Runner-up in Australian Open in 2025 (1,300 points won)
- Overall Points Change = -700 points
- Jannik Sinner’s new total after the Australian Open - 9,300 points
WTA Tour
- Aryna Sabalenka - 10,000 points total heading into the Australian Open
- Quarter Finalist in Australian Open in 2024 (430 points defended)
- Wins Australian Open in 2025 (2,000 points won)
- Overall Points Change = +1570 points
- Aryna Sabalenka’s new total after the Australian Open - 11,570 points
Hopefully this guide has helped you understand how the ranking points in the single events for men and women on the ATP and WTA tours are calculated for each player competing.
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