Association of Tennis Professionals

The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) was formed in 1972 to protect the interests of male professional Tennis players. (Female players formed the Women's Tennis Association the year after.) In 1990, the association became the organizer of the principal worldwide tennis tour, thereafter known as the ATP Tour.

Rankings

ATP Race

The ATP defines the ATP Race as "an easy-to-understand, simple-to-follow annual race from season start to season end. Every player starts at zero at the beginning of the year and the player who accumulates the most points by season's end is the World Number 1" and claims that the Race "is the mathematical method of ranking male professional tennis players on a calendar-year basis."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

According to the ATP: "Every player, regardless of his performances in the previous year, starts with zero points. Players count 18 performances in their INDESIT ATP 2005 Race total. Players eligible to enter the Grand Slams and Tennis Masters Series events must count those events and their best five other results from the International Series events. The Tennis Masters Cup will count as an additional 19th tournament for the eight players who qualify."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

ATP Race points distribution

(*) 1 point only if the Main Draw is larger than 32 (International Series) or 64.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

(Tennis Masters Series)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

List of ATP Race champions

ATP Entry Ranking

The ATP defines the ATP Entry Ranking as "the objective merit-based method used for determining qualification for entry and seeding in all Tournaments for both singles and doubles, except as modified for World Team Championship, World Doubles Championship and Tennis Masters Cup...The Entry Ranking period is the immediate past 52 weeks, except for: the Tennis Masters Cup, which is dropped on the Monday following the last ATP event of the following year; Futures Series Tournaments, that are only entered into the System on the second Monday following the Tournament's week. Once entered, all Tournaments, except for the Tennis Masters Cup, remain in the System for 52 consecutive weeks."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The ATP explains that the reason behind continuing with a 52-week rolling system is "to determine seedings and tournament entry status, it is not practical to use the INDESIT ATP 2005 Race. The Race, while indicating the hottest players in the game at any stage, does not necessarily indicate an overall standing in the game. This is especially valid at the start of the year when early tournament winners may well be leading the Race but are not yet established top players for the purposes of seeding and tournament entry."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

ATP Entry Ranking points distribution

+H: Any Challenger or Futures providing hospitality shall receive the points of the next highest prize

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

money level in that category. $/? 25,000+H Challengers receive points shown at$/? 50,000. Monies

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

shown for Challengers and Futures are on-site prize amounts.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

(*): 5 points only if the Main Draw is larger than 32 (International Series) or 64 (Tennis Masters Series).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Losers

In addition to the points allocated above, points are allocated to losers at Grand Slam, Tennis Masters Series and

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

International Series Gold Tournaments qualifying events in the following manner:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Grand Slams: 8 points for a last round loser, 4 points for a second round loser
• Tennis Masters Series: 8 points for a last round loser(*), 1 point for a first round loser
• International Series Gold: 5 points for a last round loser(*), 1 point for a first round loser,

(*): 3 points only if the Main Draw is larger than 32 (International Series Gold) or 64 (Tennis Masters Series).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Satellites

For satellite tournaments, the following points are awarded based on the final Circuit standings:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• For Total Prize Money $25,000-49,999: Winner: 6, Runner-up: 3
• For Total Prize Money 50,000-74,999: Winner: 8, Runner-up: 4
• For Total Prize Money 75,000-99,999: Winner: 10, Runner-up: 5

List of number one players on the ATP Entry Ranking

The following is a list of players who have achieved the number one position in singles since the ranking's inception in 1973:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

List of year-end number one players since 1973