2020/2021 ATP Rankings & Rules

Cromar wrote:

striker wrote:^^^
Forgive but I guess I'm still wondering!! LOL If Rafa does win RG, he will still get the trophy No 20... Im not worrying about points. SORRY!

Sorry to disappoint, striker, but the ATP tournaments being played now are official tournaments, even if played behind close doors, and, except for the modified ranking rules explained above, they are counted as 'normal' tournaments would be, in all aspects, including stats and trophies.

So, yes, Rafa will probably get his GS No 20 at RG, but I am still keeping faith that he might just be a bit rusty and that someone might, just might, take him out!!  Go Stan!!

Thank you, Cromar! Not the news I wanted!! What will be, will be!!

Maybe Musetti, the new sensation in Rome, can do the deed?... Because the guy I was counting on (to do it) flamed out in the first round!

So many new tournaments, which are good for many players in terms of opportunity. I suppose it is up to each player to see how benefits can be maximized by those who need income and ranking points, and yet ensure that things areI supo not frittered away like small change.
There is an impression of a crowded field overall.
Then, when is that merging of the WTA and ATP going to materialize? There has been no further talk. It is a little tiresome to find out the WTA results. Their website is not terribly user friendly.

Ive read ranking points have been "unfrozen" so Im guessing Roger will lose his Semi FO points! Right?

On ATP were comments from Djokovic, in connection with a new GS champion...and he talked about bringing forward more 'branded' players. His mind got stuck on marketing that he read some years ago. Not all players are "brands" even as he and his family had set out to make him one. Players endorse brands...and are sought after for main arenas...etc. Does he want to go in some junior game style, with the Fighter, the Clown, the Soft Assassin, etc? Also, lower ranked players are needed, and not everyone can be "branded." He has put too much faith into this marketing idea. They did it with him, and though he's made what he wanted, he is not that popular. He wins because of his playing and not because of his being branded. Hm..yuck....

striker wrote:Ive read ranking points have been "unfrozen" so Im guessing Roger will lose his Semi FO points! Right?

No, the rankings rules have been amended so that players will now keep all the points they earned last year until 2021. This applies to all tournaments from the start of the Tour suspension (March) until the end of the year.  

If, however, they do play a tournament this year and their result is better than last year, then they can count their new 2020 result and drop their points from last year. For further details, see the post "New ATP Rankings Rules post Covid-19 Tour Suspension" on the previous page.


Roger's Ranking

This means that Roger (like everyone else) will not lose any points for the remainder of the year and will finish the season with the same points he had last March, after Dubai (which he didn't play), namely 6630, with one exception though: the points from the ATP Tour Finals will be deducted, so Roger will lose the 400 points he earned last year in London and will effectively end the year with 6230 points.

This will allow him to maintain a decent ranking (and not take the deep dive he suffered in 2016 when he went down to No. 16). Roger is ranked No. 4 at present (has been since Dubai) and will likely stay No. 4 after RG - only Tsitsipas [6] could jump ahead of Roger after RG, but he would have to lift the trophy to accomplish that. Medvedev [5] is no longer in contention as he lost his opening match yesterday.

Looking at the forecasted numbers of the other top players for the rest of the year, Roger should finish the year in the top 10 and most likely, in my humble opinion, in the top five or six.

I shall publish an updated Ranking Chart in the next few days, so everyone can look at the numbers and form your own opinion.

^^^
Thank you Cromar!! Youre a great administrator, keeping us well informed!!

Here is the final Ranking Chart for the 2020 season.  Better late than never, I guess!...  

Goodbye 2020 - we won't miss you!  A year of turmoil, as never seen before...

Things started to go wrong shortly after the AO, when Roger announced  that he had another knee operation (on his right knee this time) and that he would be off until the grass season. Then came the Covid-19 virus and the pandemic that forced the entire world to go into hiding.

Most international sports events around the world were affected, tennis included. In all, the ATP season got reduced to only about six months of play, often under trying circumstances, with restrictive rules, and no spectators. The Tour was suspended for five months and some 25 tournaments were cancelled, or postponed, including Wimbledon, the Tokyo Olympics and the Laver Cup.  

As if this wasn't enough, in June, Roger twitted that he had a second procedure on his knee and that he would now be off for the rest of the season! We all wished Roger a full recovery and couldn't wait to see him back on the court. Earlier this year, he withdrew from the AO and is now planning to make his return to the Tour in Doha in March 2021 .

There was, however, one small shiny light in this annus horribilis... Seeing the turmoil on the Tour and the number of tournament cancellations, Roger 'chose' the right time for his surgery!  And since the ATP amended the rankings rules to a 'Best of 24-month ranking' (rather than 12), in effect from March 2020 to March 1, 2021, Roger lost only two spots in the rankings during his absence in 2020, finishing the year as N° 5.  Unexpected, considering that he played only one tournament in 2020 (AO) - The result would have been quite different without a pandemic!

As for the other Top 15 players, there weren't very many great chances in 2020, except for the two new comers:    
- Rublev ( 8)  +15!  - started the year as N° 23
- Raonic (14) +17!  - started the year as N° 31 (if he stays healthy, he could go back to being in the Top 10 again.)  

The two players who left the Top 15 were: Fognini, moved from N° 12 to 17, and Nishikori, from N° 13 to 41 (plagued by injuries). One other notable mover is Schwartzman, who went from N° 14 to 9. Each step climbed at that level takes great efforts!


Below is a visual graph of the rankings of the Top 20 players at the end of 2020, with in the background (in shaded grey) their points at the start of the season, while the small white squares above show their ranking position on Jan 1st. (A ranking square below the yellow doted line (median) indicates that they have improved their rankings during the year, while those shown above the line have dropped in the rankings).  

In addition to those in the Top 15 mentioned above, Carreno-Busta also made great stride in the rankings in 2020, having started the year as N° 27, he finsihed N° 16 (+11).  




I hope to publish the 2021 version of the Chart in the not too distant future... with all the changes in the schedule, it's quite complex, but stay tuned!  

Hi All!! I know this is wishful thinking but does anyone know if there is a chance for Roger to make the Nitto finals? He must be getting some points here in Wimby. Just a thought!!

He will need to be rank 8 to make it for sure. He's about that just now? And he's made the qf at Wim and with any luck will get some decent points in Japan and at USO? Question is what tourneys will he play after that? Is Basel going to play? If not, what will he do instead?

I believe Basel is cancelled again this year because of Covid.

Roger is number 90 in the Race Ranking. Few chances, I suppose. He has now 270, + the 360 for the QF = 630, so he will be like nr.39 at the race.
cromar knows better than me his chances, but I don't think they are a lot.

You are right Marcia!

Roger's current ranking (No 9) is quite misleading as it includes points he earned in 2019 (more so than for other players since he hasn't played for over a year). The ATP introduced special Covid-19 rules last year to protect players, agreeing to carry points for a period of 24 months, rather than 12 as usual. Then, earlier this year, they decided to extend those points to 2022 (with some exceptions), on a modified 50% basis.

Those arrangements are slated to end in August, after Toronto, and Cicinnati should be the first post-Covid tournament where standard ranking rules are applied.

However, the qualifications for the Nitto Finals will follow standard rules and will be based strictly on points earned in 2021 (the RACE points), and unfortunately, as Marcia indicated, Roger has few of those, having hardly played this season. Unless he wins a Grand Slam... then we could hope!

PS: I am going to move this little disussion to the ATP Rankings thread to keep things orderly. Also, I will be posting a 'Ranking Chart' there after Wimbledon, so you'll be able to see the projected numbers for the rest of the year, covering the top 15 players.

I just read Roger is defending 1000 points and could actually be out of the top ten. Is that true?  With his faltering at Wimby fans are quite concerned for their FAVE!!! ME TOO! Thanks to anyone for a reply!!!

I was wondering a few days back if Roger would make WTF with some luck, when someone reminded me to look at the ATP's RACE to the WTF, and that this year the ranking points are 2 years added together due to last year missing a lot of tourneys etc. But rhe Race is as always just the current year. 

Here's the Race so far though it must omit Wimbledon I think, so I'll be checking i again next week. 

https://www.atptour.com/en/rankings/singles-race-to-turin

Roger is down at NINETY with 270 points. But this has been a strange year and there are a lot of players with very few points so it's not quite as bad as it looks. 3 rounds at Wimbledon. Tokyo if he plays. USO which I am sure he'll play and a point made by the Wimbledon pundits, I think it was Boris Becker, that it's important he plays as much as he can for the rest of the year to build up confidence. 

Incidentally, Roger's vanquisher this week, note his ranking in the RACE. All the fuss about how appalling Roger lost that match and lost it so badly to some ordinary guy he should have beaten.... Hubert even before Wimbledon rank 11. I didn't realise he was ranked that high, and even that was down one ranking from the previous week. Not 40 or 70 or 150 destroying the great Roger Federer. Rank 11 is very respectable indeed.

I also looked at the rest of this year's tourneys. 

https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments

Cincy and the USO of course, then Laver Cup. But then... mid October, perfect timing (since Basel is not playing this year) is one of Roger's favourites ... Indian Wells!! Shortly after, there is Vienna which is for Roger pretty local to home in place of Basel, although he might well give that a miss as surely he'll play Paris Bercy? 

I expect that's all he'd play unless he's by then feeling fit and exited and raring to go in which case there are additional options. Unless he loses in first round everywhere, he'll be gaining quite a few points so by the end of the year.... :? Perhaps some ranking points expert can take a guess?!

In answer to Striker, Roger was actually defending 1200 points at Wimbledon (his Final from 2019) and made 360 points by reaching the QF this year.

However, with the special Covid-19 rules still in effect, Roger is able to keep half of his 2019 points until 2022 and, therefore, lost only 600 ranking points (still a big chunk, mind you!). He would have maintained his No 8 ranking had it not been for Berrettini, who gained 1020 points by reaching the Final at Wimbledon and thus moved ahead of Roger. Roger is now No 9 in the Rankings, 590 points ahead of Shapovalo who move to No 10 (+2) after his good SF result last week.

But Roger made great progess in the RACE: With 630 points, he jumped from #90 to #41! Still, it's somewhat of a bridge too far for the Nitto Finals!

Talking about the RACE, Djokovic has now qualified for the Nitto Finals, He has 7170 points!  Next, is Tsitsipas with 4570 points, and then Berrettini in third place. Who would have to thought of that!