ATP Rankings


The ATP Rankings are the method used by the Association of Tennis Professionals for determining the qualification for entry as well as the seeding of players in all singles and doubles tournaments. They attempt to be objective and merit-based. The first rankings for singles were published on 23 August 1973 while the doubles players were ranked for the first time on 1 March 1976. Ranking points are awarded according to the stage of tournament reached, and the prestige of the tournament, with the four Grand Slams awarding the most points. The rankings are updated every Monday, and points are dropped 52 weeks after being awarded. Novak Djokovic is the current world No.1.

History

The ATP began as the men's trade union in 1972, through the combined efforts of Jack Kramer, Cliff Drysdale, and Donald Dell, and rose to prominence when 81 of its members boycotted the 1973 Wimbledon Championships. Just two months later, in August, the ATP introduced its ranking system intended to objectify tournament entry criteria, which up to that point was controlled by national federations and tournament directors.
The ATP's new ranking system was quickly adopted by men's tennis. While virtually all ATP members were in favor of objectifying event participation, the system's first No. 1, Ilie Năstase, lamented that "everyone had a number hanging over them," fostering a more competitive and less collegial atmosphere among the players.
The original ATP ranking criteria, which was then regularly published weekly only from mid-1979 and persisted through the 1980s, was based on averaging each player's results, though the details were revised a number of times. Starting in 1990, in conjunction with the expansion of ATP purview as the new men's tour operator, the ranking criteria was replaced with a 'best of' system modeled after competitive downhill skiing. This 'best of' system originally used 14 events but expanded to 18 in 2000.

Overview

A player's ATP Ranking is based on the total points he accrued in the following 19 tournaments :
For a better result within the same tour type to be transposed one has to wait for the expiry of the first worse result from previous year. It only expires at the drop date of that tournament and only if the player reached a worse result or has not entered the current year.
Ranking points gained in a tournament are dropped 52 weeks later, with the exception of the ATP Finals, from which points are dropped on the Monday following the last ATP Tour event of the following year.
The Monte-Carlo Masters 1000 became optional in 2009, but if a player chooses to participate in it, its result is counted and his fourth-best result in an ATP 500 event is ignored. From 2009 until 2015, if a player did not play enough ATP 500 events and did not have an ATP 250 or Challenger appearance with a better result, the Davis Cup was counted in the 500's table. The World Team Cup was also included before its cancellation in 2012.
For the Davis Cup, from 2009 until 2015, points were distributed for the World Group countries. Instead of having an exact drop date they were gradually updated at each phase of the competition, comparing the player's results with his results from the previous year. E.g. if a player played two matches in a semifinal but plays one the next year only that one missing match will be extracted from his points).
A player who is out of competition for 30 or more days, due to a verified injury, will not receive any penalty. The ATP Finals will count as an additional 19th tournament in the ranking of its eight qualifiers at season's end.
For every Grand Slam tournament or mandatory ATP Tour Masters 1000 tournament for which a player is not in the main draw, and was not a main draw direct acceptance on the original acceptance list, and never became a main draw direct acceptance, the number of his results from all other eligible tournaments in the ranking period that count for his ranking is increased by one.
Once a player is accepted in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament or ATP Tour Masters 1000 tournament, his result in this tournament counts for his ranking, regardless of whether he participates. A player's withdrawal from an ATP Tour 500 event, regardless of whether the withdrawal was on time, results in a zero point included as one of his best of four results. Further non-consecutive withdrawals results in a zero point allocation replacing the next best positive result for each additional withdrawal.
Players with multiple consecutive withdrawals who are out of competition for 30 days or longer because of injury are not subject to a ranking penalty as long as verified and approved medical forms are provided; or, a player will not have the ranking penalty imposed if he completes the Promotional Activities requirement as specified under "Repeal of Withdrawal Fines and/or Penalties" or if the on-site withdrawal procedures apply. Players may also appeal withdrawal penalties to a Tribunal who will determine whether the penalties are affirmed or set aside.
Between 2000 and 2012, ranking points were awarded based on results in the Summer Olympics. This was changed before the 2016 Olympics where no ranking points were awarded.
With these rules, a player playing and winning the mandatory 4 Grand Slams and 8 ATP Masters 1000 events, a further 5 ATP 500 events and the Monte-Carlo Masters 1000 can amass a total of 19,500 points before the ATP Finals and end the calendar year with a maximum of 21,000 points. Up to day, the maximum points achieved by any player is 16,950 by Novak Djokovic, on June 6, 2016.

Ranking method

Since the introduction of the ATP rankings the method used to calculate a player's ranking points has changed several times.

Points distribution (2009 – present)

In addition qualifiers and main draw entry players will then also receive the points in brackets for the rounds they reached.
Starting in 2016, points were no longer awarded for Davis Cup ties, nor for the tennis tournament at the Summer Olympics.

Current rankings

Number one ranked players

The following is a list of players who have achieved the number one position in singles since the inception of the rankings in 1973:
No.PlayerDate reachedTotal weeks
1August 23, 197340
2June 3, 19748
3July 29, 1974268
4August 23, 1977109
5March 3, 1980170
6February 28, 1983270
7September 12, 198820
8August 13, 199072
9January 28, 199112
10February 10, 199258
11April 12, 1993286
12April 10, 1995101
13February 12, 19966
14March 30, 19986
15March 15, 19992
16May 3, 19996
17July 26, 19991
18November 20, 20009
19December 4, 200043
20November 19, 200180
21September 8, 20038
22November 3, 200313
23February 2, 2004310
24August 18, 2008209
25July 4, 2011282
26November 7, 201641

Last update: 16 March 2020

Year-end number one players

Singles

YearNationality / playerATP points
1973 Ilie Năstase N/A
1974 Jimmy Connors N/A
1975 Jimmy ConnorsN/A
1976 Jimmy ConnorsN/A
1977 Jimmy ConnorsN/A
1978 Jimmy ConnorsN/A
1979 Björn Borg N/A
1980 Björn BorgN/A
1981 John McEnroe N/A
1982 John McEnroeN/A
1983 John McEnroeN/A
1984 John McEnroeN/A
1985 Ivan Lendl N/A
1986 Ivan LendlN/A
1987 Ivan LendlN/A
1988 Mats Wilander N/A
1989 Ivan LendlN/A
1990 Stefan Edberg 3889
1991 Stefan Edberg3515
1992 Jim Courier 3599
1993 Pete Sampras 4128
1994 Pete Sampras5097
1995 Pete Sampras4842
1996 Pete Sampras3760
1997 Pete Sampras3666
1998 Pete Sampras3131
1999 Andre Agassi 4059

YearNationality / playerATP points
2000 Gustavo Kuerten 4195
2001 Lleyton Hewitt 4365
2002 Lleyton Hewitt4485
2003 Andy Roddick 4535
2004 Roger Federer 6335
2005 Roger Federer6725
2006 Roger Federer8370
2007 Roger Federer7180
2008 Rafael Nadal 6675
2009 Roger Federer10550
2010 Rafael Nadal12450
2011 Novak Djokovic 13630
2012 Novak Djokovic12920
2013 Rafael Nadal13030
2014 Novak Djokovic11360
2015 Novak Djokovic16585
2016 Andy Murray 12685
2017 Rafael Nadal10645
2018 Novak Djokovic9045
2019 Rafael Nadal9985

Notes
In 2009, a new point system was introduced where points were roughly doubled.

Doubles

YearNationality / player
1983 Peter Fleming /
1984 Mark Edmondson /
1985 /
1986 /
1987 /
1988 Robert Leach /
1989 Robert Leach / Jim Pugh
1990 /
1991 /
1992 /
1993 /
1994 /
1995 Mark Woodforde / Todd Woodbridge
1996 Mark Woodforde / Todd Woodbridge
1997 Mark Woodforde / Todd Woodbridge
1998 Jacco Eltingh / Paul Haarhuis
1999 /
2000 Mark Woodforde / Todd Woodbridge
2001 / Todd Woodbridge

YearNationality / player
2002 Mark Knowles / Daniel Nestor
2003 Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan
2004 Mark Knowles / Daniel Nestor
2005 Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan
2006 Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan
2007 Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan
2008 Daniel Nestor / Nenad Zimonjić
2009 Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan
2010 Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan
2011 Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan
2012 Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan
2013 Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan
2014 Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan
2015 Jean-Julien Rojer / Horia Tecau
2016 Jamie Murray / Bruno Soares
2017 Łukasz Kubot / Marcelo Melo
2018 Oliver Marach / Mate Pavić
2019 Juan Sebastián Cabal / Robert Farah

Year-end Top 10

*Not all end of year rankings listed were taken from the 31st of December. Due to the Australian Open's date in the 1970's through to the mid 1980's, the year end ranking in that era was recorded from varying dates.
*Ivan Lendl became a naturalized American citizen in 1992 after representing Czechoslovakia.
*Kevin Curren became a naturalized American citizen in 1985 after representing South Africa.

Players with highest career rank 2–5

The following is a list of players who were ranked world No.5 or higher but not No.1 in the period since the 1973 introduction of the ATP computer rankings: