What’s Next in Women’s Tennis? Part 2

Safina unleashes a forehand

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Creative Commons License photo credit: Not enough megapixels

In this post we will cover the remaining biggest and most prestigious tournaments of 2010 in women’s tennis. Events 1 to 6 were covered in part 1 of this series, click here for part 1-> What’s Next on the 2010 Women’s Tour?). 

The following tournament details apply to the 7th to 14th major tournaments on the 2010 WTA Tour calendar. This list is in date order and the starting date is the 1st day of qualifying for each event. 

  1. The Australian Open
  2. Dubai
  3. Indian Wells
  4. Miami
  5. Rome
  6. Madrid
  7. Roland Garros
  8. Wimbledon
  9. Cincinnati
  10. Montreal
  11. The US Open
  12. Tokyo
  13. Beijing
  14. Sony Ericsson Championships

Roland Garros is the 2nd of 4 Grand Slams in 2010 

Roland Garros is often called the French Open and it is held in Paris, France at Stade Roland Garros. The centre court is called Court Philippe Chartrier. The singles main draw had 128 players in it will be played on clay courts. When: May 18 to June 6.

Wimbledon is the 3rd of 4 Grand Slams in 2010 

Wimbledon is often called The Championships and it is held in Wimbledon, Great Britain at the All England Club. The centre court is simply called The Centre Court. The singles main draw had 128 players in it will be played on natural grass courts. When: June 14 to July 4.

Cincinnati is the 3rd of 5 WTA Premier FIVE tournaments in 2010. Where: Cincinnati in the USA. This year this event is called the Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open and is held at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. The singles main draw will have 56 players in it and it will be played on hard courts. When: August 9 to 15.

Montreal is the 4th of 5 WTA Premier FIVE tournaments. Where: Montreal in Canada. This year this event is called the Rogers Cup and is held at the Uniprix Stadium. The singles main draw will have 56 players in it and it will be played on hard courts. When: August 16 to 22.

The US Open is the last of the 4 Grand Slams in 2010

The US Open is often called The Open and is held in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, New York City, USA at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The centre court is called Arthur Ashe Stadium. The singles main draw had 128 players in it will be played on hard courts. When: August 24 to September 12.

Tokyo is the 5th and final Premier FIVE tournament in 2010. Where: Tokyo in Japan. This year this event is called the Toray Pan Pacific Open and is held at the Ariake Colosseum, Ariake Tennis Forest Park. The singles main draw will have 56 players in it and it will be played on hard courts. When: September 26 to October 2.

Beijing is the 4th and final WTA Premier Mandatory tournament. Where: Beijing in China. This year this event is called the China Open and is held at the National Tennis Center. The singles main draw will have 60 players in it and it will be played on hard courts. When: October 2 to 10.

Sony Ericsson Championships which are the season ending championship play-off’s for the WTA Tour in 2010.

Where: Doha, Qatar in the United Arab Emirates. This event is the end of year championships for the WTA Tour and only 8 players can qualify to participate in the Round Robin event which then has semi finals and a final. This event is held at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex and it will be played on hard courts. When: October 26 to 31.

Pictured above is Dinara Safina playing displaying great positioning for the contact point on her forehand ground stroke. Safina has had trouble with her back since late 2009 and pulled out in the 4th round of the 2010 Australian Open and has withdrawn from Dubai. 

The 23 year old is approaching a critical time in her career because she earned a lot of points during the 2009 clay court season. Those clay court points are keeping her ranked at No.2 in women’s tennis. Safina only won 5 matches in the 5 months from mid-August 20o9. 

In 2009 the Russian made the final at Stuttgart earning 320 WTA ranking points, won Rome and Madrid (800+1,000 points) and was runner-up at the French Open (1,400). The former World No.1 collected 3,520 points in the clay court season out of her 12 month ranking points total of 6,480. 

This year Safina will be attempting to reach her 3rd successive French Open final in an attempt to achieve one of her main career goals – to win her 1st Grand Slam singles title. At this point she is not inspiring much belief that she will do anything other than fall out of the top 5.

For further information about these tournaments and how the women’s tennis tour works, read these links on this tennis website -> Understanding the Women’s Pro Tour #1 and Understanding the Women’s Pro Tour #2.

Today’s POST is dedicated to Juan Carlos Ferrero. Ferrero was born on this day in 1980. The Spaniard has won 1 Grand Slam singles title to date and that was the 2003 French Open. He first achieved his highest career ranking of World No.1 on 8 September 2003.

© OnCourtAdvantage.com 2010

What’s Next on the 2010 Women’s Tour?

Yanina Wickmayer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Creative Commons License photo credit: emmett.hume

The 1st of the biggest and most prestigious tournaments of 2010 is over, so what’s next in terms of major tournaments on the women’s WTA Tour?

The world’s best players in women’s tennis will all compete against each other in the 4 Grand Slams and another 9 major tournaments which are called Premier Mandatory (of which there are 4) and Premier FIVE (as the name suggests there are 5 of these).

The women battle it out on the WTA Tour all year long to make their best effort to qualify for the Season Ending Championships. Only 8 players can qualify for the Sony Ericsson Championships where the chance to become the 2010 WTA Tour Champion (which is the player who ends the year ranked as the World No.1), will be at stake.

The following is a run down on what the 14 biggest tournaments are in 2010, where they will be played and when the top players will be there competing. This list is in date order and the starting date is the 1st day of qualifying for each event. In this post we will cover the 1st 6 tournaments.

  1. The Australian Open
  2. Dubai
  3. Indian Wells
  4. Miami
  5. Rome
  6. Madrid
  7. Roland Garros
  8. Wimbledon
  9. Cincinnati
  10. Montreal
  11. The US Open
  12. Tokyo
  13. Beijing
  14. Sony Ericsson Championships

The Australian Open is the 1st of 4 Grand Slams in 2010  

The Australian Open is in Melbourne, Australia, is held at Melbourne Park and is now being called The Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific. The centre court is called the Rod Laver Arena. The singles main draw had 128 players in it and was played on hard courts. When it was held: January 13 to 31.

Dubai is the 1st of 5 WTA Premier FIVE tournaments in 2010. Where: Dubai, Qatar in the United Arab Emirates. This year this event is called Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships and is held at the Aviation Club Tennis Centre. The singles main draw will have 56 players in it and will be played on hard court. When: February 12 to 20.

Indian Wells is the 1st of 4 WTA Premier Mandatory tournaments. Where: Indian Wells is in the USA. This year this event is called the BNP Paribas Open and is held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The singles main draw will have 96 players in it and will be played on hard courts. When: March 8 to 21.

Miami is the 2nd of 4 Premier Mandatory tournaments in 2010. Where: Miami is in the USA. This year this event is called the Sony Ericsson Open and is held at the Crandon Park Tennis Center. The singles main draw will have 96 players in it and will be played on hard courts. When: March 23 to April 4.

Rome is the 2nd of 5 Premier FIVE tournaments in 2010. Where: Rome is in Italy. This year this event is called the Internazionali BNL d’Italia and is held at the Foro Italico. The singles main draw will have 56 players in it and it will be played on clay courts. When: May 2 to 8.

Madrid is the 3rd of 4 Premier Mandatory tournaments in 2010. Where: Madrid in Spain. This year this event is called the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open and is held at the new Magic Box Tennis Venue. The singles main draw will have 60 players in it and it will be played on clay courts. When: May 8 to 16.

Pictured above is Yanina Wickmayer shortly AFTER making contact with the ball with her double handed backhand. The 20 year old Wickmayer won through the Qualifying Rounds to make the 1st round of the 2010 Australian Open. Wickmayer then won through to the 4th round before being defeated in 3 sets by fellow Belgian Justine Henin.

Wickmayer was too good for Henin in the 2nd set winning 6-1 before going down 6-3 in the 3rd set. At OCA we predict that Wickmayer will be the next young player to achieve a Top 10 ranking  for the 1st time and will do so BEFORE the French Open. Further to that she will be a major threat to win a Grand Slam and will qualify for the Season Ending Championships in Doha!!!

Stay tuned as coverage of major tournaments No.7 to 14 will follow soon on this tennis website. 

For further information about these tournaments and how the women’s tennis tour works, read these links on this tennis website -> Understanding the Women’s Pro Tour #1 and Understanding the Women’s Pro Tour #2.

© OnCourtAdvantage.com 2010

What’s Next in Men’s Tennis? Part 2

_MG_1880

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Creative Commons License photo credit: 水御龙神

In this post we will cover the remaining tournaments that are the 14 biggest and most prestigious tournaments of 2010 in men’s tennis. Tournaments 1 to 5 were covered in part 1 of this series (click this link to read part 1-> What’s Next on the 2010 Men’s Tour?). 

The following is a run down on the next 9 major tournaments in 2010, where they will be played and when the top players will be there competing. This list is in date order and the starting date is the 1st day of qualifying for each event. 

  1. The Australian Open
  2. Indian Wells
  3. Miami
  4. Monte-Carlo
  5. Rome
  6. Madrid
  7. Roland Garros
  8. Wimbledon
  9. Toronto
  10. Cincinnati
  11. The US Open
  12. Shanghai
  13. Paris
  14. ATP World Tour Finals

Madrid is the 5th of 9 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events. Where: Madrid in Spain. This year this event is called the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open and is held at the new Magic Box Tennis Venue. The singles main draw will have 56 players in it and it will be played on clay courts. When: May 7 to 16.

Roland Garros is the 2ndof 4 Grand Slams in 2010 

Roland Garros is often called the French Open and it is held in Paris, France at Stade Roland Garros. The centre court is called Court Philippe Chartrier. The singles main draw had 128 players in it will be played on clay courts. When: May 18 to June 6.

Wimbledon is the 3rd of 4 Grand Slams in 2010 

Wimbledon is often called The Championships and it is held in Wimbledon, Great Britain at the All England Club. The centre court is simply called The Centre Court. The singles main draw had 128 players in it will be played on natural grass courts. When: June 14 to July 4.

Toronto is the 6th of 9 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events. Where: Toronto in Canada. This year this event is called the Rogers Cup and is held at the Rexall Centre, York University. The singles main draw will have 56 players in it and it will be played on hard courts. When: August 7 to 15.

Cincinnati is the 7th of 9 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events. Where: Cincinnati in the USA. This year this event is called the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and is held at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. The singles main draw will have 56 players in it and it will be played on hard courts. When: August 15 to 22.

The US Open is the last of the 4 Grand Slams in 2010

The US Open is often called The Open and is held in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, New York City, USA at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The centre court is called Arthur Ashe Stadium. The singles main draw had 128 players in it will be played on hardcourts. When: August 24 to September 12.

Shanghai is the 8th of 9 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events. Where: Shanghai in China. This year this event is called the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 and is held at the Qi Zhong Tennis Center. The singles main draw will have 56 players in it and it will be played on hard courts. When: October 9 to 17.

Paris is the 9th and final ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in 2010. Where: Paris in France. This year this event is called the BNP Paribas Masters and is held at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy. The singles main draw will have 48 players in it and it will be played on indoor hard courts. When: November 6 to 14.

Barclays ATP World Tour Finals is the season ending championship play off’s for the ATP World Tour in 2010. Where: London in Great Britain. This event is the end of year championships for the ATP Tour and only 8 players can qualify to participate in the Round Robin event which then has semi finals and a final. This event is held at the O2 Arena and it will be played on indoor hard courts. When: November 21 to 28.

Pictured above is Novak Djokovic playing a defensive forehand ground stroke. Djokovic who moved up to his highest career ranking of No.2 after the Australian Open. The 22 year old Serbian will need to perform much better than last year in the next 2 Grand Slams to overtake Federer as the World No.1.

Last year Djokovic lost in the 3rd round at the French Open and the quarter finals at Wimbledon collecting just 450 ATP ranking points from those 2 events out of a possible 4,000. Whereas Federer has to win both just to retain the same ranking points tally!

For further information about these tournaments and how the men’s tennis tour works, read these links on this tennis website -> Understanding the Men’s Pro Tour #1 and Understanding the Men’s Pro Tour #2.

© OnCourtAdvantage.com 2010

What’s Next on the 2010 Men’s Tour?

Rafael Nadal, Montreal 2007

 Creative Commons License photo credit: franz88

The 1st of the biggest and most prestigious tournaments of 2010 is over, so what’s next in terms of major tournaments on the men’s ATP Tour?

The world’s best players in men’s tennis will be playing in all 4 Grand Slams and are automatically entered into the 9 major tournaments which are called ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events.

The men battle it out on the ATP Tour throughout the year in an effort to qualify for one extra tournament that only 8 players can qualify for. This event is the end of year championships where the chance to become the 2010 ATP World Tour Champion (which is the player who ends the year ranked as the World No.1), is up for grabs.

The following is a run down on what the 14 biggest tournaments are in 2010, where they will be played and when the top players will be there competing. This list is in date order and the starting date is the 1st day of qualifying for each event. In this post we will cover the 1st 5 tournaments.

  1. The Australian Open
  2. Indian Wells
  3. Miami
  4. Monte-Carlo
  5. Rome
  6. Madrid
  7. Roland Garros
  8. Wimbledon
  9. Toronto
  10. Cincinnati
  11. The US Open
  12. Shanghai
  13. Paris
  14. ATP World Tour Finals

The Australian Open is the 1st of 4 Grand Slams in 2010  

The Australian Open is in Melbourne, Australia, is held at Melbourne Park and is now being called The Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific. The centre court is called the Rod Laver Arena. The singles main draw had 128 players in it and was played on hard courts. When it was held: January 13 to 31.

Indian Wells is the 1st of 9 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events. Where: Indian Wells is in the USA. This year this event is called the BNP Paribas Open and is held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The singles main draw will have 96 players in it and will be played on hard courts. When: March 8 to 21.

Miami is the 2nd of 9 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events. Where: Miami is in the USA. This year this event is called the Sony Ericsson Open and is held at the Crandon Park Tennis Center. The singles main draw will have 96 players in it and will be played on hard courts. When: March 22 to April 4.

Monte-Carlo is the 3rd of 9 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events. Where: Monte-Carlo is in Monaco. This year this event is called the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters and is held at the Monte-Carlo Country Club. The singles main draw will have 56 players in it and is the 1st major clay court tournament of the year. When: April 10 to 18.

Rome is the 4th of 9 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events. Where: Rome is in Italy. This year this event is called the Internazionali BNL d’Italia and is held at the Foro Italico. The singles main draw will have 56 players in it and it will be played on clay courts. When: April 24 to May 2.

Pictured above is Rafael Nadal driving right through the ball with his double handed backhand. Nadal failed to defend his Australian Open victory over Federer in 2009. This meant that Nadal’s 2,000 points from winning the 2009 Australian Open dropped off his ATP ranking points tally.

The former World No.1 with his quarter final result at this year’s Australian Open earned 360 ATP points. The Spaniard lost 1,640 (2,000 minus 360) points which meant he dropped down from No.2 to be the current World No.4.

Last year the 23 year old Nadal won 4 other tournaments including 3 Masters 1000 events: Indian Wells, Monte-Carlo and Rome. The pressure is really on Nadal now given the points he earned from those 4 tournament victories (3,500), drop-off his ranking in a short time frame March 22 to May 3.

Nadal will have to match those results this year or face dropping out of the top 4. If this happens then means will start meeting Federer in quarter finals in tournaments instead of, for example, the French Open final!

Stay tuned as coverage of major tournaments No.6 to 14 will follow soon.

For further information about these tournaments and how the men’s tennis tour works, read these links on this tennis website -> Understanding the Men’s Pro Tour #1 and Understanding the Men’s Pro Tour #2.

Today’s POST is dedicated to Manuel Orantes. Orantes was born on this day in 1949. The Spaniard won 1 Grand Slam singles title by defeating No.1 seed Jimmy Connors at the 1975 US Open. He first achieved his highest career ranking of World No.2 on 23 August 1973.

© OnCourtAdvantage.com 2010

Understanding Women’s Tennis Rankings #1

AmelieMauresmo3
Creative Commons License photo credit: Mercurier

Pictured above is Amelie Mauresmo’s beautiful one handed backhand drive. Mauresmo is in the very early stage of her forward swing before impact with the ball.

The French woman was the 15th of only 19 woman to hold the world No.1 ranking since the WTA ranking system began on 3 November, 1975.

The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour bases the women’s tennis rankings on total points won over a rolling 12 month system. The rolling system is the amount of ranking points a player accumulates for the previous 52 weeks.

Currently the rankings represent the points tallied from 11 August, 2008 through to 10 August, 2009. A player must earn ranking points in a minimum of 3 Women’s Tour events before they are included in the WTA Tour ranking list.

The ranking points won in WTA Tour  and ITF tournaments of $100,000, $75,000 and $50,000 US dollars are added each Monday to create a new weekly ranking list.

The above mentioned events are added provided the events are completed by 11:59pm US Eastern time on the day before (i.e. Sunday).

ITF Women’s Circuit events that range in total prize money of $10,000 through to $25,000 US dollars are added 1 week later (or longer) after the event has concluded. However, any points added remain for 52 weeks from that date they are included. 

In each of the above mentioned tournaments the number of  ranking points a player wins depends on how many rounds the woman progresses through and what category that particular tournament has been graded.

The higher the tournament is graded (categorised), the more ranking points are awarded in each round of that event. The further a player wins through a tournament, the greater number of ranking points she receives for each victory. 

The Grand Slam graded tournaments offer the most ranking points as the highest category event on tour. The winner of the final of a Grand Slam is awarded 2,000 WTA ranking points.

The 2nd highest number of ranking points can be earned at the Sony Ericsson Championships. An undefeated champion in the year end event achieves the maximum of 1,500 points.

The 3rd highest amount of ranking points that can be won is from Premier Mandatory tournaments. The winner of one of these events has 1,000 points added to their personal total.

The 4th highest amount of ranking points that can be won is from Premier Five tournaments. A Premier Five champion earns 800 points.

A player’s ranking only includes the points she wins from a maximum of 16 tournaments within the previous 52 week period.

Due to the max of 16 rule players can have a number of weak performances in tournaments discarded and NOT have a negative impact on their ranking.

Further explanation of the WTA rankings including, the rules for the breakdown of which 16 tournaments must be included in each player’s rankings points total, will be covered in part 2 of this series.

Today’s POST is dedicated to Kerry Reid. Reid was born on 7 August in 1947 and won the Australian Open in 1977. The Australian was runner-up in 2 other Grand Slam singles finals: to Margaret Court (1970 Australian Open) and to Billie Jean King (1972 US Open). Reid’s highest ranking of No.5 was first achieved in 1971.

©OnCourtAdvantage.com 2009

Understanding Men’s Tennis Rankings #1

Rafael Nadal : Journée Benny Berthet à Roland Garros 2009

Creative Commons License photo credit: nicogenin

Pictured above is Rafael Nadal extending his racquet out through the ball with his mighty forehand ground stroke. Nadal became the 24th man to earn the world No.1 ranking since the ATP ranking system began in August 1973.

The ATP World Tour calculates the men’s tennis rankings over a rolling 12 month system. The rolling system is the amount of ranking points a player accumulates for the previous 52 weeks. Currently the rankings represent the points tallied from 4 August, 2008 through to 3 August, 2009.

There are only 2 exceptions to the previous 52 week rule. The 1st exception is the ATP World Tour Finals. The points won in the 2008 Finals are deducted once all ATP events, except for the 2009 ATP World Tour Finals, are played.

This exception is made to ensure that players who played in the 2008 ATP World Tour Finals DO NOT have any selection advantage over the rest of the players who failed to qualify in 2008. The year end finals aim to select only the best performed players for that calendar year, e.g. 2009.  

The 2nd exception is for the ranking points won at Futures Series Tournaments. These points are added 8 days AFTER the event has concluded as opposed to the very next day for all of the other tournaments. 

Ranking points are awarded in all of the 7 categories of tournaments. These categories are outlined in 2 earlier posts on this tennis website, click these links for further details: Understanding the Men’s Pro Tour #1 and Understanding the Men’s Pro Tour #2.

In each of the above mentioned tournaments the number of  ranking points a player wins depends on how many rounds he progresses through and what category that particular tournament has been graded.

The higher the tournament is graded (categorised), the more ranking points are awarded in each round of that event. The further a player wins through a tournament, the greater number of ranking points he receives for each victory. 

The Grand Slam graded tournaments offer the most ranking points as the highest category event on tour. The winner of the final of a Grand Slam is awarded 2,000 ATP ranking points.

The 2nd highest number of ranking points can be earned at the ATP World Tour Finals. If a player goes through undefeated to win the year end event, then he achieves the maximum of 1,500 points.

The 3rd highest amount of ranking points that can be won is in one of the 9 ATP World Tour  Masters 1000 tournaments. As the name suggests the winner of one of these events has 1,000 points added to their personal total.

A players ranking only includes the points he wins from a maximum of 18 tournaments within the previous 52 week period.

The only exception to the maximum of 18 rule is for the ATP World Tour Finals. The players who play in this final event of the season are rewarded by being allowed to count 19 events. 

Further explanation of the ATP rankings including, the rules for the breakdown of which 18 tournaments must be included in each players rankings points total will be covered in part 2 of this series.

Please comment if any of the above is unclear. The aim is to make it easy for everybody to understand the tour!

©OnCourtAdvantage.com 2009

Understanding the Women’s Pro Tour #2

Hitting The Ball

Creative Commons License photo credit: bovinemagnet

As previously discussed, the WTA and the ITF are the governing bodies of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. Together they are responsible for managing and staging the events that make up the 7 categories of tournaments each year.

To recap, these categories are:

  1. The Grand Slams;
  2. Sony Ericsson Championships;
  3. Premier Mandatory;
  4. Premier 5;
  5. Premier;
  6. International events; and
  7. ITF Women’s Circuit.

These events form the basis of the annual tournament calendar and are vital in determining the overall rankings of the top women’s professional tennis players.

In this post we will concentrate on the top 4 categories of events; The Grand Slams, the Sony Ericsson Championships, the Premier Mandatory and the Premier 5 tournaments. Each year there are 4 Grand Slam events, 1 Sony Ericsson Championship event, 4 Premier Mandatory events and 5 Premier Five events. Together, these 14 events are the most important singles events that a female tennis professional can play.

The 4 Grand Slam tournaments in calendar order are:

The 4 Premier Mandatory tournaments in calendar order are: 

The 5 Premier Five tournaments in calendar order are:

* For the years falling on an odd number, for example 2009, the women play in Toronto and in the even numbered years they play in Montreal (e.g. in 2010).

This year the Sony Ericsson Championships will be held in Doha, Qatar from October 27 to November 1 for the 2nd year of it’s 3 year term.

The Sony Ericsson Championships is the pinnacle of the tennis calendar, as the year end World No.1 ranking can be determined at this tournament. The event is structured so that players need to qualify for only 8 spots in the draw, in effect creating a race to make the end of year finals.

Each year is termed a tennis season. The player who finishes with the World No.1 ranking after the final match at the Sony Ericsson Championships is played, is declared the champion for that season.

The aim of this category: “The Tour: Explained” is to make it easy for everybody to understand the tour. To read part 1 on this tennis website click this link -> Understanding the Women’s Pro Tour #1.

© OnCourtAdvantage.com 2009

Understanding the Men’s Pro Tour #2

Andy Murray
Creative Commons License photo credit: envisionpublicidad

As previously discussed, the ATP and ITF are the governing bodies of the ATP World Tour. Together they are responsible for managing and staging the events that make up the 7 categories of tournaments each year.

To recap, these categories are:

  1. The Grand Slams;
  2. ATP World Tour Finals;
  3. ATP World Tour Masters 1000;
  4. ATP World Tour 500;
  5. ATP World Tour 250;
  6. Challenger events;
  7. Futures events.

These events form the basis of the annual tournament calendar and are vital in determining the overall rankings of the men’s professional tennis players.

In this post we will concentrate on the top 3 categories of events; The Grand Slams, the ATP World Tour Finals and ATP World Tour Masters 1000. Each year there are 4 Grand Slam events, 9 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events and 1 ATP World Tour Finals event. Together, these 14 events are the most important singles events that a male tennis professional can play.

The 4 Grand Slam tournaments in calendar order are:

The 9 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments in calendar order are: 

* For the years falling on an odd number, for example 2009, the men play in Montreal and in the even numbered years they play in Toronto (e.g. in 2010).

This year the ATP World Tour Finals event will be held from November 22 to 29 in London, England. It is the pinnacle of the tennis calendar, as the year end world No.1 ranking can be determined at this tournament. The event is structured so that players need to qualify for the 8 spots in the draw, in effect creating a race to the end of year finals.

Each year is termed a tennis season. The player who finishes with the world No.1 ranking after the final match at the ATP World Tour Finals is played, is declared the champion for that season.

Who do you think will be crowned the 2009 ATP World Tour Champion?

Please comment if any of the above needs further explanation. The aim is to make it easy for everybody to understand the tour!

©OnCourtAdvantage.com 2009

Understanding the Women’s Pro Tour #1

A half volley ?
Creative Commons License photo credit: mptsk

The women’s professional tennis tour is commonly referred to as the WTA Tour. Part of the WTA’s responsibilities is to sell sponsorship naming rights in order to increase financial backing for women’s professional tennis. As a result of sponsorship rights, the official name of the women’s professional tennis tour is the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. 

Firstly, WTA stands for Women’s Tennis Association. The WTA Tour has 5 main categories of tournaments in which women’s ranking points are awarded. Like the men’s ATP World Tour, the WTA tour has renamed 2 of it’s 4 tournament categories for 2009. 

These  5 main categories of tournaments are now known as:

In 2009 there are 4 Premier Mandatory events, 5 Premier Five tournaments and 10 Premier tournaments. Prior to 2009 all of the Premier group of tournaments were known as Tier 1 and Tier 2 events.

There are 31 International events this year, in previous years these were known as Tier 3 and Tier 4 events. The Sony Ericsson Championships are held at the end of each year and only the top 8 ranked female players are eligible to play. This year the Championships will be held in Doha in October and are coordinated in association with the ITF.

The ITF is formally known as the International Tennis Federation. The ITF is the governing body for a further 2 categories of tournaments in which women’s ranking points are offered. These are known as:

There are 4 Grand Slam events each year and they offer the winner 2,000 ranking points. The ITF Women’s Circuit events offer between 12 and 150 ranking points for the winner, which is the lowest amount in any tournament.

The Premier Mandatory events offers 1000 ranking points to the winner, compared to the 800 ranking points on offer to the winner of a Premier Five event. Premier event winners earn 470 ranking points, where as International event winners earn 280 ranking points.

All players who compete in the Sony Ericsson Championships earn ranking points. The maximum number of ranking points that can be won is 1,500 if the winner of the event goes through undefeated i.e. wins all 5 matches.

This tournament structure and the ranking points system forms the basis for how women’s overall rankings are calculated. Women’s rankings will be discussed in greater detail in a future post. The aim of this category: “The Tour: Explained” is to make it easy for everybody to understand the tour.

Today’s POST is dedicated to Mima Jausovec. Jausovec was born on this day in 1956 and won her Grand Slam singles title at the French Open in 1977 at Roland Garros. The Slovenian was runner-up at the same event in 1978 and again in 1983 to Chris Evert.

© OnCourtAdvantage.com 2009

Understanding the Men’s Pro Tour #1

Champion

Creative Commons License photo credit: GavinZ

The men’s professional tennis tour was renamed in January 2009, to the ATP World Tour. Despite this re-branding, the men’s tour is more commonly referred to by its former name, The ATP Tour.

Constant name changing and repackaging by the ATP only serves to leave tennis followers even more confused about the men’s professional tour and how the annual tournament calender works.  

In The Tour: Explained, we will explore the men’s and women’s professional tennis tours and make it easier for our readers to understand exactly how the tours work.

ATP stands for the Association of Tennis Professionals. The ATP World Tour is the governing body of 5 categories of tournaments in which men’s ranking points are offered. The new names are:

There are 9 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events each year. Prior to 2009 these events were known as the Masters Series tournaments. 

The ATP World Tour 500 and ATP World Tour 250 events were previously called the International Series Gold and International Series tournaments. This year there are 11 ATP World Tour 500 events and 40 ATP World Tour 250 events.

There are 115 ATP Challenger Series tournaments in 2009. The ATP World Tour Finals were called the Masters Cup and it is the year-end championship. Only the top 8 ranked male players for the calendar year qualify for this event which is governed by both the ATP and the ITF. 

The ITF is the International Tennis Federation. The ITF is the governing body for the 2 other categories of tournaments which are known as Grand Slam events and Futures tournaments.

There are 4 Grand Slam tournaments per year, which offer 2000 ranking points to the winner. This is the highest number of ranking points that can be won in any tournament. There are 420 Futures events this year and these offer the least points of all tournament categories.

The ATP World Tour Masters 1000, ATP World Tour 500 and ATP World Tour 250 are so named as a reflection of the ranking points that the winner of that event can earn. For example, the winner of an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament will earn 1000 point. The winner of an ATP World Tour 500 event will earn 500 points, with 250 points going to the winner of the ATP World Tour 250 event.

The ATP World Tour Finals winner earns between 1100 and 1500 ranking points depending on how many wins they achieve in the tournament. 1500 ATP ranking points are awarded if the winner remains undefeated.

The ATP Challenger Series tournaments can earn the winner between 75 and 125 ranking points. Futures tournaments earn between 17 and 33 ranking points for the winner.

Pictured above is Novak Djokovic when he won the final of the 2008 year-end championships in Shanghai.

Please comment if any of the above needs further explanation. The aim is to make it easy for everybody to understand the tour!

Today’s POST is dedicated to Ilie Nastase. Nastase was born on this day in 1946 and won 2 Grand Slam singles titles – the 1972 US Open and the 1973 French Open at Roland Garros. His highest ranking of No.1 was first achieved on August 23, 1973.

©OnCourtAdvantage.com 2009

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