One of the absolute certainties of professional tennis is the ranking system.
In fact, the status of a professional tennis player is acquired by appearing in its ranking, of course worldwide, as it means meeting the criteria and requirements to take part in tournaments, at various levels, recognized by the Association of Tennis Professionals and the Women’s Tennis Association, i.e. the ATP and the WTA.
The status of each tennis player is determined by their position in this ranking, which is obviously based on their performance in qualifying tournaments. Seeded positions are determined by position in the ranking.
Not all the qualifying events depend on these associations because, for example, the four Grand Slam events depend on the International Tennis Federation – although, in practice, they are independent – as well as, at the other extreme, the ITF circuit, which is the most modest level of professional tennis.
The rankings try to reflect as accurately as possible the performance of each tennis player. Since its establishment – 1973 in the case of men and 1975 in the case of women – it has undergone several reforms, although the basis is the same: to provide a continuous evaluation during the 52 weeks of the year.
Whoever reaches the first place, at any time, can now boast of having been World Number 1 for the rest of their life, although ‘the number 1 of the year’ is whoever occupies the position at the end of the season.
The current configuration, similar in the men’s and women’s circuits, dates back to 1998-99, when the ATP established a ‘mini-circuit’ of tournaments in the category immediately below the Grand Slams, and to ensure that they would have a line-up in keeping with their category, made it compulsory for all tennis players with a sufficient ranking to participate. Whoever did not do so, would receive a ‘0’ in the corresponding box. They were the Super 9, now called Masters 1000.
Since then, although each player can participate in as many tournaments as they want, each one gets their ranking through the sum of a maximum of 19 tournaments. For the ‘top 30’ the four Grand Slams are mandatory: Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and US Open and eight Masters 1000 (Monte Carlo is not mandatory).
Linked to this structure is the scoring of each tournament. For several seasons now, the ATP and WTA circuits have been naming the tournament categories according to their winning score: 1,000 points in the ATP and WTA 1,000, then 500 and 250. Below these are the Challenger and ITF circuits, with lower scores. Of course, each tournament has a different score per round, including qualifiers.
The key to the system is that the points earned by each tennis player last 52 weeks in their ranking. This means that each year they are obliged to repeat or improve on the previous year’s performance in order not to lose positions.
Winning a Grand Slam means 2,000 points, but if the following year the title isn’t defended, that tally disappears and the points won are fewer than the previous year. That is why a player can gain positions without playing and another can lose them even with good results.
In 2024, however – and despite the rumors about a unification of circuits – the ATP has introduced several new features in the scoring system that mainly affect the Grand Slams, since participating in these events is prioritized to the detriment of the minor tournaments.
For example, there will be no points for those who lose in the first round of any tournament, except in the Grand Slams and in the extended draw of the rest of the categories.
Points are also awarded to those who pass the qualifying rounds of the Grand Slams but, in the rest of the categories, points will only be awarded in the last round of the phase. Points are increased in these events in all rounds, except in case of defeat in the first round and to the champions. Points are also increased for ATP 500 and 250 events, while points are slightly reduced for Challengers.
How are the points distributed at the Australian Open 2024?
All Grand Slams have the same scoring structure according to round.
- Champion: 2,000 points
- Finalist: 1,300
- Semifinals: 800 (780 WTA)
- Quarter-finals: 400 (430 WTA)
- Round of 16: 200 (240 WTA)
- Third round: 100 (130 WTA)
- Second round: 50 (70 WTA)
- First round: 10
- For passing the qualifying round: 30 (40 WTA)
- Third round of qualifying: 16 (30 WTA)
- Second round of qualifying: 8 (20 WTA)
- First round of qualifying: 0 (2 WTA)