2010 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Ranking System

The ranking system is a 52-week, cumulative system in which the number of tournament results comprising a player’s Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Ranking is capped at 16 Tournaments for singles and 11 Tournaments for doubles.

The results used to determine a player’s Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Ranking shall be those yielding the highest ranking points during a rolling, 52-week period, and must include a player’s ranking points from the Grand Slams, Premier Mandatory Tournaments and the Sony Ericsson Championships plus the best two (2) Premier5 Tournament results for Top 10 Players.

General

Description

The worldwide computer ranking for women’s Professional Tennis (the “Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Rankings) reflect a player’s performance in tournament play and determine player acceptances and seeding for all Tournaments. The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Rankings are computed and published weekly by the Tour from its Corporate Headquarters in St Petersburg,Florida, USA.

Eligibility

Number of Tournaments

Players must earn ranking points in at least three (3) valid Tournaments to appear on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Rankings.

Age Requirements
Players under the age of 14 cannot obtain a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Ranking. If a player under the age of 14 plays singles or doubles in a Tournament, that Tournament and the points acquired during play will not be counted for ranking purposes for that player. Players aged 14 through 17 If a player plays singles or doubles in a Tournament that exceeds the number permitted to be played under the Age Eligibility Rule (p.21), that Tournament and the points acquired during play will not be counted for ranking purposes for that player.

Processing of Rankings

Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Tournaments plus ITF $100,000, $75,000 and $50,000 events (as long as the ITF events are completed by 11:59 p.m. US Eastern time on the Sunday of that week) are processed on a weekly basis. ITF $10,000 through $25,000 events are processed a minimum of one (1) weekfollowing the completion of the tournament.

Points stay valid for 52 weeks from the week in which a Tournament is included in the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Rankings totals.

Automatic Main Draw Entry Tournaments

Definition

All players who qualify by ranking for acceptance into the Main Draw of the following Tournaments will be entered automatically:
(a) Premier Mandatory Tournaments;
(b) Grand Slam events; and
(c) Sony Ericsson Championships.

Ranking Point Treatment

• The ranking points earned by any player who qualifies for acceptance in the Main Draw of the above Tournaments must count on a player’s ranking as one (1) of her best 16 Tournament results. Any player who is originally accepted into the Main Draw of the automatic entry Tournaments listed above, or becomes a direct acceptance and subsequently withdraws and therefore fails to play the Tournament, will automatically receive zero (0) points for the Tournament, and it will count on that player’s ranking as one (1) of her best 16 Tournament results.
• Any Top 10 Player who fails to play in a Premier 5 or Premier $700 Commitment Tournament will automatically receive zero (0) points for the Tournament and it will count on that player’s ranking as one (1) of her best 16 Tournament results.
• Any Marquee Player who fails to play in a Premier $700 Commitment Tournament will automatically receive zero (0) points for the Tournament and it will count on that player’s ranking as one (1) of her best 16 Tournament results.
• A Top 10 Player’s ranking must include her two (2) best results from Premier 5 Tournaments played during the year plus any zero (0) points.
• A 2009 year-end ranked player 11-20 must include her 2 best Premier 5 Tournaments if played during the year.
• Ranking Points for 1st-round losses at Grand Slams Players receive five (5) ranking points for a 1st-round loss in Grand Slam singles and doubles Main Draws and two (2) points for a 1st-round loss in Grand Slam singles Qualifying.

ITF Events

For the purpose of awarding ranking points, in all ITF tournaments with prize money of $50,000 or greater, the round of 32 will be considered to be the 1st round of Qualifying, and all rules will apply as if that were the 1st round of play. In these ITF tournaments, the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour will award ranking points in Qualifying starting in the round of 32, and play in any prior round will not be considered as having taken place for ranking purposes.

Ranking Order

Players are ranked on the basis of their total points.

Byes/Defaults/Withdrawals

Byes

The following rules will apply to the cases outlined below:

• If a player or team receives one (1) or more consecutive byes and loses her/their 1st match played, 1st round losers’ points will be awarded, and the player or team shall receive prize money for the round reached.
• If a player or team receives one (1) or more consecutive byes and withdraws from her/their 1st match, no ranking points shall be awarded, the Tournament will not count on her/their record and no prize money shall be paid out.

Defaults

The following rules will apply to the cases outlined below:

• If a player or team receives a walkover in the 1st round, and there is no Alternate or Lucky Loser to take the spot, or if a player or team receives a walkover in a subsequent round without having yet played a match, the player or team will receive ranking points from the round preceding their elimination.
• A player or team who receives a walkover in any round except the 1st round after having played and won a match shall be awarded ranking points for the walkover from their opponent. For any disciplinary default occurring in a Tournament after the match begins, the advancing player or team will be awarded ranking points over her opponent or team.

Withdrawals

The following rules will apply to the cases outlined below:

• Players or teams who withdraw from a Tournament before playing their 1st match will not have the Tournament count on their record, with the exception of Automatic Main Draw Entry Tournaments and Commitment Tournaments for Top 10 and Marquee Players.
• If a player qualifies but is unable to play the Main Draw for any reason, she will receive last round Qualifying prize money and Qualifier points.
• If a doubles team withdraws in any round, their prize money and ranking points are calculated as follows: (i) the non-withdrawing partner will receive prize money and ranking points per the round they withdrew less 50% of the difference between that round and the previous round; and (ii) the partner causing the withdrawal will receive the prize money and ranking points from the previous round, unless one of the following apply, in which case the withdrawing partner will receive 50% of the difference between that round and the previous round: (i) player also withdraws from playing singles in a Tournament to be held the following week at the time she withdraws from doubles; (ii) player is declared unfit to play singles at the same Tournament; (iii) player withdraw/retires from a singles match which was scheduled the same day as doubles; or (iv) player does not play in a tennis event the following week.

Wild Cards

Player or teams who receive Wild Cards are awarded the same ranking points as any other player.

Tournament Cancellation or Early Termination

Tournament Cancellation Without Play Occurring

If the singles or doubles event of a Tournament is cancelled due to poor weather, and there has been no play, 1st round prize money will be paid out to the players.

Tournament Cancellation After Play Has Begun

If play has commenced and has been terminated before the Tournament is concluded, players will be paid loser’s prize money for the individual round reached. Additionally, if the 1st round has been completed, all players/teams will receive their ranking points earned through the last completed round only, and the Tournament will count as a Tournament played.

Tournament Cancellation Without Completion of Finals

If a Tournament is officially terminated and the finals have not been completed, the finalists each will receive finalist’s prize money and ranking points. The difference between the winner and finalist prize money will revert back to the Tournament.

Tie-breaking Procedures

When two (2) or more players have the same number of ranking points, the tie for the ranking position will be decided according to the following priorities:

1. The player with the most combined total points from Grand Slams, Premier Mandatory Tournaments, Premier 5 Tournaments and the Sony
Ericsson Championships;
2. The player with the most total points from all Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Tournaments, including Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships;
3. The player with the fewest number of Tournaments in a 52-week period (including any Mandatory Tournaments, if the player qualified for
acceptance); and
4. The highest number of points from one (1) single Tournament, then if needed, the second highest and so on. If the results of all of these tie-breaks are the same, the rank for such players will be considered to be the same or tied for that ranking position. Last Name followed by First Name will list the players who are tied in the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Ranking Alphabetically. If both the First and Last Names are the same, the players will be listed according to whichever one is encountered first during the ranking process.

Singles

• Players are awarded ranking points for the highest round they reach.
• In Tournaments where prize money is $25,000 or greater:
i. Qualifiers earn Main Draw ranking points based on the highest round reached in the Main Draw plus the ranking points specified in the Qualifier (QLFR) column on the ranking points table on p.219.
ii. Qualifiers who lose in the 1st round of the Main Draw are awarded only the ranking points specified in the Qualifier (QLFR) column on the aforementioned table.
iii. Lucky Losers earn Main Draw ranking points based on the highest round reached in the Main Draw, unless they lose in the 1st round of the Main Draw in which case they receive only the ranking points earned in Qualifying.
• In Tournaments where prize money is less than $25,000:
i. No Qualifying ranking points are awarded to Qualifiers or Lucky Losers.
ii. Qualifiers who lose in the 1st round of the Main Draw are awarded only the points specified in the Qualifier (QLFR) column on the ranking points table on page 196. However, Qualifiers earn Main Draw ranking points based on the highest round reached in the Main Draw plus the ranking points specified in the Qualifier (QLFR) column on the aforementioned table.
iii. Lucky Losers earn only Main Draw ranking points based on the highest round reached in the Main Draw.
• Entries and seeding are determined by highest rank. In the event of a tie, the 1st tie-break procedure is the highest ranking from the previous week. The 2nd tie-brewak procedure is the player with the fewest number of Tournaments played over the previous 52-week period (including any Mandatory Tournaments, if the player qualified for acceptance).

Doubles

• Players are awarded ranking points for the highest round they reach.
• Entries and seeding are determined by highest combined rank. For entries, unranked players will be assigned a rank equal to one (1) plus the rank of the lowest player on the latest rankings. Teams who receive Wild Cards are awarded the same ranking points as any other team.
• In the event of a rankings tie, the 1st tie-break procedure is the team with the highest combined total points. The 2nd tie-break procedure is the team with the highest combined ranking from the previous week. The 3rd tie-break procedure is the team with the fewest combined number of Tournaments played over the previous 52-week period.
• Lucky Losers who lose in the Main Draw are awarded Main Draw ranking points only.
• See the Grand Slam Rulebook for Grand Slam entry and doubles qualifying procedures.

Go Back