Sports Talk

Explainer: how tennis rankings work (and why No 1 can change mid-week)

Lots of questions lately about why a player 'becomes No 1' before they win anything, so a nerdy guide.

Rolling 52 weeks. The ATP and WTA rankings count your best results from the last 12 months. Points from a tournament drop off when that tournament comes around again the next year.

So it's about defending. If you won a big event last year and lose early this year, you lose most of those points. Your rival who did nothing there last year can overtake you without playing well.

Weighting. Grand Slams are worth the most, then the Masters/WTA 1000 events, then 500s and 250s.

Mid-week changes. The official list is published on Mondays, but once results make it mathematically certain that someone will top the next list, the media start calling it. That's why you sometimes see 'No 1-elect'.

Correct me if I missed something, I am only a student with too many spreadsheets.