Coronavirus outbreak: ATP announces revised rankings system for upcoming season
The ATP announced a revised system for calculating the men's tennis world rankings when the now-stalled season resumes in August. The Rankings, which operate on a "Best 18" results basis over 52 weeks, will now cover a period of 22 months (from March 2019 to December 2020). Notably, the Rankings have been frozen since March, following the suspension of ATP Tour.
A player's ranking will comprise his "Best 18" results between March 2019 and December 2020. However, a player cannot count the same Tour-level tournament twice in his "Best 18" breakdown. Moreover, the Tour-level tournament points added in 2020, that count in a player's Ranking breakdown, will remain on a player's Ranking until the particular tournament is played again.
The revised Rankings will provide flexibility & fairness to players across all levels in parallel with certain number of points available, as part of the revised provisional 2020 calendar. It will also help the players who can't compete in 2020 due to health & safety. The Rankings aim to provide a system that can adapt to further changes in the calendar, if necessary.
With the revised Rankings, the players who perform well following the Tour's resumption, will be rewarded. The principle of defending tournament points week by week will also be retained. This will maintain player mobility in the Rankings.
Previously, the New York Governor confirmed US Open will run as per the original schedule (August 31-September 13). The two elite Masters events and rescheduled French Open will follow the US Open, later this year. However, the threat of suspension still lies on it after the controversial Adria Tour. It will be interesting to see if the two Grand Slam events go ahead.
Earlier this month, the French Tennis Federation allowed the presence of fans in the upcoming French Open. Reportedly, the FTF gave nod to fill upto 60 per cent of the stands when play starts in September at Roland Garros. Notably, the tickets will go on sale from July 16. The tournament is scheduled to be played from September 20 to October 4.
