TennisBubbles · ATP & WTA
How ATP and WTA ranking points work
Updated
Ranking points in tennis are a rolling 52-week total. Every point a player holds was earned at a tournament in the last year, and it expires on the anniversary of that tournament. Nothing accumulates from one season to the next, and nothing is permanent.
Why players lose points without losing a match
Because the expiry runs on a calendar, not on results. When the anniversary of a tournament arrives, whatever the player won there a year ago drops off the total — whether or not they enter this year, and whether or not they have played a match since. A player can sit out a month and still fall ten places.
What “defending” means
A player is defending the points they won at the same event last year. Reaching the same round replaces them exactly. Going out earlier is a net loss. Going further is a net gain. This is why the same defeat costs two players completely different amounts: it depends entirely on what each of them was defending, not on how far they got.
Grand Slam points by round reached
ATP
WTA
Bubble area is proportional to the points. Winning a Grand Slam is worth 200 times a first-round exit — the two circles are the same picture as the two numbers, and easier to believe.
| Round reached | ATP | WTA |
|---|---|---|
| First round | 10 | 10 |
| Second round | 50 | 70 |
| Third round | 100 | 130 |
| Fourth round | 200 | 240 |
| Quarter-final | 400 | 430 |
| Semi-final | 800 | 780 |
| Final | 1,300 | 1,300 |
| Champion | 2,000 | 2,000 |
The ranking is frozen during a Grand Slam
The ATP and WTA do not republish positions during the fortnight, so what you see on the official site while a Slam is being played is the ranking from before it started. Every result still counts; it simply does not appear until the release after the tournament ends. Live rankings show where each player would actually finish.
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Why a tennis player can lose ranking points without losing a match, explained in two minutes:
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nowCommon questions
- How do ATP and WTA ranking points work?
- A player's ranking points are a rolling 52-week total. Every point was earned at a tournament in the last year, and it expires on the anniversary of that tournament. Nothing is cumulative and nothing is permanent: to keep a point you have to earn it again at the same event a year later. As of October 9, 2026, the ATP world number one, Jannik Sinner, holds 11,000 points on that basis.
- Why does a player lose ranking points without losing a match?
- Because points expire on a calendar, not on results. When the anniversary of a tournament arrives, whatever the player won there a year ago drops off the total — even if they did not enter this year's edition, and even if they have not played a match in months.
- What does it mean to 'defend' points?
- A player is defending the points they won at the same tournament last year. Those points disappear when this year's edition ends, whatever happens. Reaching the same round replaces them exactly; going out earlier means a net loss; going further is a net gain. A defending champion at a Grand Slam is defending 2,000 points, the maximum.
- How many points does each Grand Slam round award?
- By round reached, the ATP awards 10, 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1,300 and 2,000 points from first round to champion. The WTA awards 10, 70, 130, 240, 430, 780, 1,300 and 2,000.
- Does the ranking change during a Grand Slam?
- No. The ATP and WTA freeze their published rankings for the fortnight, so the positions you see during a Slam are the ones from before it started. Every result still counts — it simply does not show up until the release after the tournament closes.
- Can a player go up in the ranking while losing?
- Yes. If the players above them are defending more points than they are, an early exit can still mean a climb. The ranking is relative: what matters is not what you lose, but what you lose compared with everyone around you.
See it applied right now: who is defending what and who is still in the draw.