2. Introduction
• Steven Saslow, an executive leader at New York City’s
Blackstone Group for more than 10 years, enjoys leading
a healthy and active lifestyle outside. Now mostly retired
from Blackstone, Steven Saslow likes to stay in shape by
playing tennis.
Both the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and
Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) make use of a 52-
week, cumulative point system to rank players. Each tour
runs from January through November and breaks down
tournaments into various levels based on prestige, prize
money, and other factors.
3. Professional Tennis Rankings
• For example, the four grand slams are the most
valuable tournaments on both tours, with men and
women taking home 2,000 points for a victory.
Those 2,000 points count toward a player’s ranking
for the next 12 months. Due to the professional
tennis schedule remaining relatively static each
year, a player’s points from any given tournament
often disappear following the most recent edition of
the same event. This can give the impression of
players defending their points at a tournament from
a previous year.
4. Conclusion
• Both the men’s and women’s tours make use of a
yearly points race in addition to the 52-week
ranking system. The ATP Rankings Race to
London, for instance, sees each player on tour
begin each season with zero points. By following
the race ranking, a tennis fan can gain a better
understanding of a player’s current level of play.
The longer a season goes on, the more closely
the race rankings resemble the official tour
rankings.