{"id":33431,"date":"2021-03-03T14:59:32","date_gmt":"2021-03-03T19:59:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=33431"},"modified":"2021-03-03T14:59:32","modified_gmt":"2021-03-03T19:59:32","slug":"atp-rankings-change-what-it-means","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2021\/03\/03\/atp-rankings-change-what-it-means\/","title":{"rendered":"The New ATP Rankings Change: What It Means"},"content":{"rendered":"

The ATP has shaken up its rankings points system<\/a> as a way to transition out of the pandemic and, as anyone who has read their explanation of the changes will tell you, it\u2019s complicated. But is it fair?<\/p>\n

The announcement about rankings points was part of a package that includes raising prize money in steps<\/a>, as well as other measures meant to keep professional tennis players afloat, while also attempting to deal with the reality of decreased revenue.<\/p>\n

The Covid-19 pandemic has put a set of crashing brakes on sponsorship funds and ticket sales from fans, and no amount of complaining<\/a> about prize money or lack of playing opportunities can change that. The money has dried up to a trickle for the time being.<\/p>\n

What about the rankings? Much like stock options, rankings points represent a player\u2019s potential for more earning. Those points get players into tournaments and get them noticed by sponsors.<\/p>\n

The New ATP \u201cCovid-19 Protected Ranking\u201d<\/h4>\n

The old 52-week system made perfect sense. A player\u2019s points for winning matches and tournaments dropped off exactly a year after earning them. But during the pandemic, both tours chose to freeze rankings temporarily.<\/p>\n

That meant a player like Ash Barty, who was ranked world #1 when the pandemic hit, has remained in the top spot despite not playing for almost a full year.\u00a0It rewarded Barty for being careful and locking down in her home country of Australia, the safe and socially conscious thing to do.<\/p>\n

But it simultaneously disadvantaged players who jumped through tournaments\u2019 quarantine hoops in order to play– and managed to succeed. It essentially kept those players in place, providing them with very little chance to climb the rankings regardless of how well they played.<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>