Tennis is one of the biggest sports in the world and one that is respected globally for the appeal it holds. The sport requires players to be immensely fit and agile, and make quick decisions that can change the course of the match altogether.
One of the biggest secrets surrounding tennis is the calculation of its ranking points. What will interest our readers to note is that for a long time, there were no formal rankings in the sport, and players and fans were alright with that!
In the early 1950s, some British newspapers started bringing out rankings of their own to placate and entertain their subscribers. Among these, the famous tennis journalist Lance Tingay’s annual list of top 10 tennis players was sought after the most.
Informally, Tingay’s list was often the only one that counted in the minds of the followers of the sport, and it was not until the formation of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in 1972 that formal, computerised rankings were introduced.
One of the biggest reasons for the introduction of the rankings by the ATP was to streamline the entry of players into various tournaments. As you are well aware, it is these rankings that help players enter into tournaments.
Romania’s Ilie Năstase was the first official ATP men’s singles world No. 1 when the list was first published on 23 August 1973. However, it was not until 1976 that the first list of doubles rankings was published.
The Calculation of Points and ATP Rankings
The most simple way of answering how the ATP calculates rankings for its players is this: it does so by calculating the points that the players have garnered over the year in the numerous tournaments that they have played.
While this might mean that players who play more tournaments will benefit, it is not so. There is a limit on the number of tournaments that will be used to calculate the rankings. At the moment, it is 19, although it used to be 14 at the beginning and was increased to 18 in 2000.
This means that the ‘best of’ concept is used to calculate rankings, and even if a player plays in more tournaments than what is necessary to calculate the rankings, it is only the average of 19 that will be counted.
Points are allocated to players based on the stature of the tournament they are playing in and the position they garner in it. For example, the winner of a Grand Slam tournament gets 2000 points while the runner-up gets 1200 points.
Similarly, players winning an ATP Masters tournament will get 1000 points, those winning an ATP Tour 500 will get 500 points and so on for tournaments such as ATP 250, ATP 110 etc.
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The Importance of the Ranking System
The biggest importance of the ranking system comes to use during the seeding of players in tournaments.
Both major and non-major tournaments use a seeding system in which only a certain number of players are allowed direct entry into the main draw. The others who fall outside the ambit of these rankings ought to play in the Qualifiers and decide a place for themselves by winning it or increasing their ranking.
This system comes in extremely handy during the organising of major tournaments as well, as it allows the organising committee to decide which players to introduce in the draw and which to send to the Qualifiers. While it is not unheard of, rarely do players who come through the Qualifiers go on to win the main tournament.
However, there have been several instances of players doing extremely well for themselves despite having to go through the Qualifiers. The players who are ranked better than their colleagues find themselves being asked to play directly from Round 2 on most occasions and in courts that have better facilities than the ones housing the players who have made their way from the Qualifiers.
How important are rankings for the layperson to understand tennis better?
The issuing of rankings also helps the layperson understand the nuances of the sport much better. These rankings often give a definitive, if not exact, indication of which players in the world are in fine fettle and have done well for themselves in the recent past.
Of course, the players who have done well recently find themselves ranked much higher than those who have not. A lot of importance is also given to holding the number one spot in the rankings for as long as possible.
This increases the status and prestige of the player in question and also increases his/ her ability to command better sponsorship for themselves. Fans of the sport also like to weigh in on this debate by deciding for themselves which players they think ought to be ranked higher, although it is only the statistics that count.
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