AStefanos Tsitsipas’ regret was palpable as he received reports of his second-round defeat at last month’s Madrid Open. Tsitsipas explained that his goal is to get as close to 6,000 ATP ranking points as possible during the clay court season, which is the maximum he could earn during this period in a perfect world. Now he’s behind.
“Now I’m probably one step away from achieving that, so minus 1,000,” he said. “I have to keep working for the points because I really want to go out there and get my points and reach new heights in terms of ranking and performance this season.”
One of the hallmarks of professional tennis is the importance of rankings. They decide everything from the games a player can play in to how much a sponsorship deal might pay. However, their most basic function is to measure each player’s relationship to other players. “The numbers don’t lie,” Tsitsipas said. “They said everything.”
While rankings are crucial to the functioning of the sport, Tsitsipas’ approach is unusual. Few players speak so openly about points and positions because while setting objective goals can be a source of positive motivation, the numbers next to a player’s name can quickly become their worst nightmare.
“Injuries, draws, there are a lot of things in tennis that you can’t control,” Jack Draper said. “It’s hard to [a target] Then very disappointed. If you focus on trying: “Get to this ranking, get to this ranking”, then you stop developing as a player. You won’t get to that point.
Many players have learned this the hard way. “Achieving these outcome goals almost makes me feel debilitated,” Madison Keys said. “I put too much pressure on myself and honestly, I hated going out and playing tennis because I couldn’t focus on why I was there and what I actually wanted to do. So I really tried to make a conscious effort to develop a plan that was more performance-based. goals and focus more on how I play and how I want to play.
The ATP and WTA rankings have played a key role in the development of the sport since their introduction in 1973 and 1975 respectively. Both ranking systems use a 52-week rolling system, with each event category providing a certain number of points each round based on its importance. The four major championships have the highest number of points. Those who cannot match the points earned a year ago will drop down in the rankings.
In the digital age, ignoring rankings is harder than ever. In the past, players could only learn their new rankings every Monday, but the rise of “live rankings”, originally calculated by fans, has changed the experience of playing and following tennis, allowing players and fans alike to record each round’s progress. Condition.
Although Keys manages to avoid focusing on her immediate rankings, the temptation is always there. “It’s easy to get caught up in that,” she said. “I think it’s difficult to start playing at such a young age because the number next to your name can mean a lot and it really takes the fun out of tennis. You start to focus a lot on that, but it doesn’t matter.
In the first week of this month’s Italian Open, Belgian qualifier Zizou Bergès stepped onto the Campo Central Court to play the most important match of his career with Rafael Nadal. The 24-year-old The year-old player held his ground impressively and narrowly lost to 10th place. Burgess has reached a defining moment in his career and is on the verge of cracking the top 100.
He said: “If you said ‘I want to be in the top 100’ at school and I had to say it at school when I was skipping class to go to training, everyone would look at you like ‘Who do you think you are? ‘” This goal has been with me since I was introduced to tennis at the age of seven. We are trying to catch up with it.
By qualifying for the main draw in Rome, Burgess climbed into the top 100 in the real-time rankings, but the results of players ranked around him in other tournaments during his time in Rome did not work in his favour. On Monday, he climbed to No. 102, a career-high ranking, up one spot but two short of his final goal.
Unlike some players, Burgess openly admits that he “constantly” tracks his progress in the live rankings. He believes that pursuing such a specific goal can be energizing: “My team said, ‘You should try to target another ranking now because you’re as good as there.'” I said, ‘ No, I just wanted to enjoy that moment as much as possible when I got into the top hundred.
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For most pros, finishing in the top 100 is a more realistic goal than the childhood dream of winning a major. In addition to the symbolism of being one of the best players in the world, the top 100 roughly marks the line between the top level of the sport (including the Grand Slam main draw) and the second-tier tours of the ATP and WTA .
It can also be a huge psychological hurdle for many people. For example, Jessica Pegula stayed between 100-200 in the rankings for seven years. After finally cracking the top 100, the confidence and motivation she gained took her all the way to the top five, where she stayed for three years: “I just remember [the top 100] It was a huge hurdle, and when I did that, I was like, “Okay, that’s it?” That seems to be it? It’s hard, but I think it’s one of those things where you have an amazing goal and then once you achieve it, you realize, ‘Wow, why am I so nervous about this?
At the top of the game, breaking into the top 20, the top 10, competing for a top eight spot in the WTA or ATP finals, or competing for the number one spot in the world, these are all psychological challenges. But many top players say they are so focused on winning the biggest titles in the world and personal development every week that rankings often take a back seat. “I want to do well in the tournament,” Coco Gauff said. “Rankings will follow.”
There are also some selected prodigies who are so good that they don’t have to worry about their rankings at all. Iga Swiatek, 22, who is enjoying her 104th week at No. 1, would regularly update her social media with screenshots of her rankings when she was a teenager. Never a negative update.
“When I look at it now, everything is going so smoothly that I didn’t stop for a moment. Honestly, the first time I stopped, there was no way to improve, right now in the rankings,” Swiatek said nonchalantly . “That’s why you need to focus on improving as a player and not on numbers.”
Grigor Dimitrov’s impressive performances in recent months have seen him return to the top ten at the age of 33. His reflections on his relationship with the rankings over the years prompted many other players to express: “Of course it’s beautiful, it’s good, it’s great when you’re one of the older guys and you’re still at the top. Top ten,” he said. “But, for me, I don’t want to base my self-worth on winning games and being a top-10 player.”
While Case describes how focusing too much on rankings affected her interest in the sport, she also warns of the dangers of rankings affecting an athlete’s self-worth. Asked whether a player’s ego is really so easily attached to a number next to his or her name, the former No. 7 immediately nodded vigorously and closed her eyes: “Yes,” she said. “That’s why we’re all crazy.”
