Mary in Windsor

Both the men’s (ATP) and women’s (WTA) rankings are based on points earned as part of a rolling 52-week cumulative process, with positions used to determine seedings at tournaments.

The men’s rankings are formed from a maximum of 20 tournaments, while the women’s are from 18.

In the men’s game, those 20 qualifying tournaments consist of the four Grand Slams, the ATP Finals, the eight mandatory ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, then the seven best performances at lower ranked-tournaments – including non-mandatory ATP Masters 1000 events, all ATP 500 series and all ATP 250 series.

For players not qualifying for the ATP Finals, 19 tournaments are counted.

In the women’s game, their 18 tournaments consist of the four Grand Slams, the ATP Finals, six WTA 1000 mandatory combined/virtually combined tournaments, one WTA 1000 mandatory tournaments consisting of WTA only players, then seven results from other events.

The number drops to 17 if they fail to reach the ATP Finals.

Ranking points are accumulated via wins and progression through tournaments, with higher-ranked events worth more points.

The ranking of a player’s opponent is generally not factored in when determining points.

The only exception is the United Cup, where points for both the ATP and WTA rankings are awarded based on the rankings of the opponents beaten.