How does tennis ranking work? Points, Rules and Race explained
Jannik Sinner is once again the world number one in the PIF ATP Ranking, the official men’s tennis ranking, after defeating Carlos Alcaraz at the Monte-Carlo Masters 1000. Now that the Spaniard is injured, the gap between the two will most likely widen even further, since Alcaraz will miss both the Italian Open and Roland Garros, tournaments he won in 2025.
Using tennis terminology, Alcaraz in these tournaments would have had to defend the maximum number of points possible, respectively 1000 in Rome and 2000 in Paris, for a total of 3000 points to be dropped. Although it may sound like obscure vocabulary, the ATP and WTA ranking systems are purely mathematical, and go hand in hand with a second system used for qualification to the Finals, the so-called Race.
How does the ATP calculation work?
The ATP ranking was first introduced in 1973, but the version currently in use has its roots in the 1990s and has undergone very recent updates. The calculation of points, both in singles and doubles, works through a system of additions and subtractions continuously applied from season to season over a 52-week period — roughly the duration of a year: the points earned in tournament A that has just been played are added; the subtraction, meanwhile, removes the points earned the previous year in that same tournament A. The balance is positive if a better result is achieved in the current year, negative in the opposite case, and neutral if the result is the same.
To better understand, let’s once again take Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, in this case at the Italian Open. The maximum number of points a player can earn by winning the tournament is 1000. In 2025, the Spaniard triumphed, meaning he would have had to defend those points. Due to injury, however, he will not be able to do so, therefore those 1000 points will be dropped once the event is over and the ranking updates: from a total of 12,960 points, Alcaraz will drop to 11,960 points.
A different story applies to Sinner, who in 2025 was runner-up, earning 650 points, the amount he will need to defend. By repeating the same result, the Italian player would neither gain nor lose anything in the rankings, while a victory in 2026 would earn him 1000 gross points. In this scenario, he would gain a net of 350 points, moving from 14,350 to 14,700: 1000 points from the hypothetical 2026 victory, minus the 650 points from the 2025 final to be dropped, equals 350 points gained in the current ATP ranking.
This mechanism applies to singles and doubles in both ATP and WTA tournaments, with the only difference being the value of the tournaments. The ATP end-of-year points record belongs to Novak Djokovic, who finished 2015 with 16,585 points, reaching the all-time high of 16,950 in June 2016. In the WTA circuit, meanwhile, Serena Williams reached 13,161 points in 2015, a figure only recently challenged by Aryna Sabalenka in July 2025.
How are ATP points awarded?
Between Rome and Paris, we said Carlos Alcaraz would have had to defend 3000 points. Subtracting the 1000 points from the Italian Open, it becomes easy to understand that winning Roland Garros is worth 2000 points. This is because it is not a Masters 1000 event, but one of the four Grand Slam tournaments, the most prestigious events of all.
Depending on the result achieved, points vary following a pyramid-style system in both the ATP and WTA rankings, with some slight differences in scoring between the men’s and women’s tours — where players earn slightly more points even without winning the tournament. The ATP ranking guidelines follow this structure:
- Grand Slam: champion, 2000 points; finalist, 1300 points; semifinalist, 800 points etc.
- Masters 1000: champion, 1000 points; finalist, 650 points; semifinalist, 400 points etc.
- ATP 500: champion, 500 points; finalist, 330 points; semifinalist, 200 points etc.
- ATP 250: champion, 250 points; finalist, 165 points; semifinalist, 100 points etc.
The Nitto ATP Finals in Turin also award points, but they are subject to a slightly different calculation system because of the tournament structure, which includes a Round Robin stage before the knockout phase. The maximum number of points a player can earn by winning the event undefeated is 1500 points: 200 for each of the three group-stage matches, 400 for a semifinal win, and 500 for the final victory.
What ATP rules must be respected?
The ATP and WTA rankings follow a best of system, meaning they count the best results obtained from a fixed number of tournaments, both in singles and doubles. In the ATP rankings, the minimum number of tournaments for a top-30 player ideally amounts to 18: 4 Grand Slams, 8 ATP Masters 1000 events, and at least 6 others. The ATP Finals, if played, are considered an additional tournament. If a player chooses to compete in 20 tournaments instead of 18, the best-of calculation is activated, meaning only the best results in terms of points are counted in the rankings while two tournaments are discarded.
A bonus is represented by the Monte-Carlo Masters 1000, which is included among the six additional tournaments. This is advantageous because it awards more points than an ATP 500 event in case of victory, and because skipping it does not affect the minimum tournament requirements needed to reach eighteen events. In the WTA rankings, the minimum number of tournaments played by top-ranked players is also 18: 4 Grand Slams, 6 WTA 1000 results, 1 result from a non-WTA 1000 tournament, plus the other 7 best results.
What happens in case of injury or prolonged absence?
In the event of an injury, certain specific mechanisms come into play. The protected ranking is designed to protect players with a strong ATP ranking who are forced into long absences from competition, guaranteeing them protection upon return. Based on the average ranking position maintained by the player during the first three months following the last tournament played, a special entry position in the draw is assigned. This pass, called Entry Protection, can also be used by players absent for 12 months or longer, guaranteeing entry into the first 12 tournaments after their return or within the following 12 months.
This absence must be justified and certified. In the case of a short injury absence, as with Alcaraz, the points earned in the tournaments simply remain at zero, but upon returning the Spaniard will still have the chance to reach the required 18 ATP tournament appearances by resuming where he left off. If his absence had not been justified, he would have received a Zero-pointer, a penalty assigning 0 points while also counting the tournament among the mandatory eighteen, preventing the player from later discarding it from their best results.
How often is the ranking updated?
Since the calculation involves simple additions and subtractions, it can also be carried out live during a tournament, especially in cases like Alcaraz’s where the injury leaves little room for surprise outcomes, although ATP and WTA provide the official ranking updates. The rankings are usually updated every Monday, except in the case of Grand Slams or certain longer Masters 1000 events, which are subject to biweekly updates. Official communications are therefore generally issued during 45 of the 52 weeks of competition.
What is the Race and how does it work?
The name of the other ranking refers to a race — the Race to Turin on the men’s side and the Race to Riyadh on the women’s side — toward the Finals. Unlike the traditional rankings, the Race points calculation is cumulative starting from January and resets at the end of each year. Starting in 2026, the last tournament awarding Race points on the men’s side will be the Paris-Bercy Masters 1000, while in the women’s circuit the race concludes with the WTA 500 events in Tokyo and the WTA 250 in Guangzhou.
The eight players who accumulate the most points in the Race throughout the year qualify for the season-ending event, with one exception: if there is a Grand Slam champion ranked between eighth and twentieth place in the Race, that player would qualify for the Finals alongside the top seven. If more than one player meets these requirements, only the highest-ranked player in the Race would qualify, while the others would become alternates. The differences are simple and rather obvious. While the Race is cumulative and rewards results from the current season, the ATP/WTA rankings operate continuously, evaluating the long-term progress and rise of players on tour.
