How ATP and WTA Rankings Work and How Tennis Ranking Points Are Calculated

By Tomasz Wilk

23 Dec 2025

Tomasz Wilk 23 Dec 2025

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Tennis rankings are based on a 52-week rolling system.
Points are distributed according to tournament levels and performance
Consistency and performance are key to maintaining high rankings

Federer with the ATP year end No. 1 trophy, a milestone built on the tour’s 52 week ranking system. (credit: Getty)

How ATP and WTA Rankings Work (And How Ranking Points Are Calculated)

How ATP and WTA Rankings Work (And How Ranking Points Are Calculated)
First Things First
The 52 Week Rolling Ranking System (ATP and WTA)
How ATP Ranking Points Are Calculated
How WTA Ranking Points Are Calculated
How Points Are Earned at a Tournament
Why Rankings Change Week to Week
Simple Example: How a Player’s Total Points Are Calculated
A Genius System at Work

If you understand how tennis rankings work, you instantly read the sport on a higher level. The system is not just for stat lovers. It decides who gets into the big tournaments, who lands the soft draws, and who is truly positioned to win titles. If you want to get better at spotting what is coming on tour, you need to know how the points game works behind the scenes.

First Things First

So what exactly is a tennis ranking? Think of it as a running scoreboard of a player’s last 52 weeks. The ATP is the men’s tour and the WTA covers the women’s side, and both use a merit based scoring system that totals up a player’s best results over the past year.

Why They Matter

Tournament Entry: Your ranking controls your entire schedule. A top 100 player walks straight into main draws. Fall outside that range and suddenly you are grinding through qualifiers.

Seedings: Higher ranked players are seeded, which means they avoid the other big hitters until later rounds. That separation is a real advantage when you are trying to navigate an event.

Byes: At some tournaments, the top players receive a bye and skip straight into round two. That is basically a free move forward and a free chunk of points.

Rankings update every Monday, so the board resets every new week on tour.

No matter when a tournament ends, the points hit the system on Monday.

The 52 Week Rolling Ranking System (ATP and WTA)

Everything in the ranking system is built around a simple idea. Whatever you did in the last 52 weeks counts. Whatever you did before that disappears the moment those 52 weeks are up.

Points Added and Dropped

• Points go on your ranking the Monday after a tournament finishes.

• Points disappear exactly 52 weeks later.

This creates a constant swing. If a player reached the final of the Italian Open last year and does the exact same this year, the points from last year drop off on Monday when the new event starts. The fresh points then go on the following Monday.

Why Rankings Change Even If a Player Matches Their Result

Even if a player repeats last year’s result, they can still fall because the players around them might outperform their previous totals. You are always being compared to the rest of the field. Think of it as a treadmill. You can run at the same pace but still fall behind if the guy next to you starts sprinting.

Imagine this situation:

Last year, Player A made the semi final in Madrid, which gave them 360 points. This year, Madrid starts again on Monday.

Here is what happens step by step:

1. Monday of this year’s Madrid:

Those 360 points from last year instantly drop off, because the 52 week window has expired.

So before Player A even hits a ball, their ranking total goes down by 360.

2. During this year’s tournament:

Let’s say Player A reaches the quarter final this time. That is worth 180 points.

3. Next Monday:

The new result becomes official and 180 points are added to the ranking.

This is what makes tennis rankings unique. You always know when a player will be ultra motivated, because you can see exactly where they picked up big points last season and where they need to defend them again.

How ATP Ranking Points Are Calculated

The ATP Tour uses what is called a Best of 19 system. A player’s ranking is the sum of their 19 highest scoring tournaments within the last year.

Points by Tournament Level

The biggest players are required to include certain mandatory events. Below are the maximum points on offer at each level.

Tournament Level	Winner (W)	Finalist (F)	Semifinalist (SF)	Quarterfinalist (QF)
Grand Slams	2000	1300	800	400
ATP Masters 1000	1000	650	400	200
ATP 500	500	330	200	100
ATP 250	250	165	100	50

Challenger tournaments also offer points and are the pathway for rising players. For example, a Challenger 175 title gives 175 points. ITF events offer smaller numbers, such as 25 points for an M25 win or 15 points for an M15 win.

How Many Tournaments Count

Mandatory Events (12): The four Grand Slams and eight mandatory Masters 1000 events always count. Monte Carlo is optional for top players.

Optional Events (7): These are filled by the player’s best seven remaining results, which can come from optional Masters, ATP 500, ATP 250, or Challenger events.

Bonus Event: If a player qualifies for the ATP Finals, points earned there count as an extra result. An undefeated champion bags 1500 points.

Mandatory events have come under real scrutiny lately. More top players are speaking up about the pressure to meet these requirements, saying it cuts into their rest, increases injury risk, and even shrinks what little off season they get.

How WTA Ranking Points Are Calculated

The WTA follows a similar system but only counts a player’s Best 16 results.

Points by Tournament Level

The point distribution on the women's side has some minor differences, mainly in the mandatory tiers.

Tournament Level	Winner (W)	Finalist (F)	Semifinalist (SF)	Quarterfinalist (QF)
Grand Slams	2000	1300	780	430
WTA 1000 (Mandatory)	1000	650	390	215
WTA 500	500	325	195	108
WTA 250	250	163	98	54

The WTA has four mandatory 1000 events. Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, and Beijing must be included. The other WTA 1000s count toward optional results. Lower tier events like WTA 125s and ITF tournaments help players climb into the main tour.

How Many Tournaments Count

Mandatory Events: The four Slams and four mandatory WTA 1000s must be included. If a player skips a mandatory event without an approved reason, they usually take a zero that occupies one of their slots.

Bonus Event: The WTA Finals also adds a bonus result for those who qualify.

How Points Are Earned at a Tournament

Points are not awarded for every match won; they are awarded based on the round reached in the tournament. The deeper you go, the more you cash in.

ATP vs WTA Grand Slam Ranking Points

Result	ATP Grand Slam Points	WTA Grand Slam Points
Winner (W)	2000	2000
Runner up (F)	1300	1300
Semifinals (SF)	800	780
Quarterfinals (QF)	400	430
Round of 16 (R16)	200	240
Round of 128 (R128)	10	10

Examples

Winning a Title: A Slam title gives a player the full 2000 points. It is the fastest way to shoot up the rankings.

Reaching QF or SF: A Quarterfinal at a Masters 1000 gives 200 points. A Semifinal doubles that to 400 points. These steady mid level runs are how players build a top 20 ranking.

Early Losses: Even a first round loss at a big event usually earns something. At a 56 player Masters draw, a round one exit still gives 10 points.

Qualifying Points: Qualifiers get rewarded too. For example, qualifying for a Slam gives you 30 points on the ATP side and 40 points on the WTA side before you even hit the main draw.

Exhibitions such as Laver Cup or World Tennis League do not offer points.

Why Rankings Change Week to Week

The weekly change boils down to the simple mechanics of the 52-week rolling window. There are three core reasons a player's points total moves every Monday:

New tournament points added: A player competes in a tournament that concludes on Sunday. Their points from that event are officially added to their total on Monday.

Last year’s points for the same week removed: Crucially, the points earned at the exact same tournament 52 weeks prior are simultaneously removed. If a player won a WTA 500 event last year (500 points) and lost in the Quarterfinals this year (108 points), they have a net loss of 392 points (108 new points minus 500 dropped points).

Changes in the number of events counted: For players outside the mandatory commitment, their total might fluctuate if a strong result suddenly becomes one of their "best 19" (ATP) or "best 16" (WTA), replacing a weaker result that drops out of their count.

Simple Example: How a Player’s Total Points Are Calculated

To calculate a player's ranking, you simply add up their highest point hauls until the tournament limit is reached (19 for ATP, 16 for WTA).

Hypothetical Player ATP Total (Best of 19)

Let’s look at a hypothetical player's top 5 results to keep it simple:

Rank	Tournament Type	Result	Points Earned
1	Grand Slam (Mandatory)	Winner	2000
2	Masters 1000 (Mandatory)	Finalist	650
3	Masters 1000 (Mandatory)	QF	200
4	ATP 500 (Optional)	Winner	500
5	ATP 250 (Optional)	SF	100
…	(14 more results)	—	(e.g., 2000)
	TOTAL	Best 19 Results	5450

The Rolling Replacement

Imagine this player, currently ranked #8, has a 200-point result from last year’s ATP 250 event dropping this Monday.

Old Total: 5,450 points.

Points Dropped: 200 points.

New Total (Pre-Tournament): 5,450 - 200 = 5,250 points.

This week, he plays a new ATP 500 event and reaches the Semifinals, earning 200 points.

New Result Added: 200 points.

Final New Total: 5,250 + 200 = 5,450 points.

Because he didn't beat his previous result, his ranking total is unchanged. However, if he had won the ATP 500 (500 points), his new total would be 5,250 + 500 = 5,750 points, giving him a massive bump up the rankings. This constant pressure to "defend" points is why top players often struggle to maintain their positions.

A Genius System at Work

The ATP and WTA ranking systems are expertly designed to reward two things above all else: performance and consistency. The points you hold reflect your absolute best results across the past 12 months, which is why dominating a single surface or tournament won’t be enough to secure the World No. 1 spot.

Both organizations rely on the same fundamental 52-week rolling system, but with slight variations in the number of events counted (19 for ATP, 16 for WTA) and the list of mandatory tournaments. It’s a grind, but understanding these rules is the first step to accurately predicting the movement in the tennis betting markets.

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