Association of Tennis Professionals
Association of Tennis Professionals
ATP |
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Sport |
Professional Tennis |
Formation date |
1972 |
Location |
London
Monaco
Ponte Vedra Beach
Sydney |
Chairman |
Adam Helfant |
Chief Exec |
Brad Drewett |
Official website |
atpworldtour.com |
Old logo
The Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the principal worldwide tennis tour for men, the ATP Tour, which was renamed in January 2009 and is now known as the ATP World Tour. It is an evolution of the tour competitions previously known as World Championship Tennis. The ATP's Executive Offices are in London, England. ATP Americas is based in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA; ATP Europe is headquartered in Monaco; and ATP International, which covers Africa, Asia and Australasia, is based in Sydney, Australia.
The counterpart organization in the women's professional game is the Women's Tennis Association.
History
Started in 1972 by several players, it was first managed by Jack Kramer and Cliff Drysdale.[1] The organisation was integral in creating professional players' rankings which started the following year and continues to this day. From 1974 to 1989, the men's circuit was administered by a sub-committee called the Men's Tennis Council. It was made up of representatives of the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the ATP, and tournament directors from around the world.
The ATP requested and got the Men's International Pro Tennis Council (MIPTC) to introduce a drug testing rule, making tennis the first professional sport to institute a workable and well-designed drug-testing program.
But the tour was still run by the tournament directors. The lack of player representation culminated in a player mutiny in 1988 changing the entire structure of the tour. CEO Hamilton Jordan is credited with the now infamous "Parking Lot Press Conference" resulting in their own ATP Tour.[1][2][3] This re-organisation also ended a lawsuit with Volvo and Donald Dell.[4]
By 1991, the men had their first television package to broadcast 19 tournaments to the world.[1] Coming on-line with their first website in 1995, was quickly followed by a multi-year agreement with Mercedes-Benz.
Lawsuits in 2008, around virtually the same issues, resulted in a restructured tour.[5]
ATP Tour
The ATP Tour comprises Grand Slams, ATP World Tour Masters 1000, ATP World Tour 500 series, ATP World Tour 250 series, ATP Challenger Series, and Futures tournaments. The ATP tour also oversees the World Team Cup, played in Düsseldorf in May, and the ATP Champions Tour for seniors.
Players and doubles teams with most ranking points (collected during the calendar year) play in the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup, which is run jointly with ITF. The week-long introductory level Futures tournaments are ITF events and they count towards ATP Entry Ranking. The four-week ITF Satellite tournaments were discontinued in 2007. Grand Slam tournaments are overseen by the ITF and they count towards the players' ATP rankings. The details of the professional tennis tour are:
Event category |
Number |
Total prize money (USD) |
Winner's ranking points |
Governing body |
Grand Slams |
4 |
See individual articles |
2,000 |
ITF |
ATP World Tour Finals |
1 |
4,450,000 |
1100-1500 |
ATP & ITF |
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 |
9 |
2,450,000 to 3,645,000 |
1000 |
ATP |
ATP World Tour 500 series |
11 |
755,000 to 2,100,000 |
500 |
ATP |
ATP World Tour 250 series |
40 |
416,000 to 1,024,000 |
250 |
ATP |
ATP World Team Cup |
1 |
1,750,000 |
- |
ATP |
ATP Challenger Series |
178 |
35,000 to 150,000 |
75 to 125 |
ATP |
Futures |
534 |
10,000 and 15,000 |
17 to 33 |
ITF |
2009 changes
ATP World Tour tournaments in 2009 are classified as ATP World Tour Masters 1000, ATP World Tour 500, and ATP World Tour 250. Broadly speaking the Masters Series tournaments became the new Masters 1000 level and the international series (gold) events became 500 level and 250 level events.
The Masters 1000 includes tournaments at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Rome, Madrid, Toronto/Montreal, Cincinnati, Shanghai and Paris. The end-of-year event, the Tour Finals, moved to London. Hamburg has been displaced by the new clay court event at Madrid, which is a new combined men's and women's tournament. From 2011, Rome and Cincinnati will also be combined tournaments. Severe sanctions will be placed on top players skipping the Masters 1000 series events, unless medical proof is presented.[6] Plans to eliminate Monte Carlo and Hamburg as Masters Series events led to controversy and protests from players as well as organisers. Hamburg and Monte Carlo filed lawsuits against the ATP,[7] and as a concession it was decided that Monte Carlo remains a Masters 1000 level event, with more prize money and 1000 ranking points, but it would no longer be a compulsory tournament for top-ranked players. Monte Carlo later dropped its suit. Hamburg was "reserved" to become a 500 level event in the summer.[8] Hamburg did not accept this concession, but later lost its suit.[9].
The 500 level includes tournaments at Rotterdam, Dubai, Acapulco, Memphis, Barcelona, Hamburg, Washington, Beijing, Tokyo, Basel and Valencia.
The ATP & ITF have declared that 2009 Davis Cup World Group and World Group Playoffs award a total of up to 500 points. Players accumulate points over the 4 rounds and the playoffs and these are counted as one of a player's four best results from the 500 level events. An additional 125 points are given to a player who wins all 8 live rubbers and wins the Davis Cup. [10]
Otherwise, the domain name of their website was changed to "www.atpworldtour.com".[11]
Rankings
ATP publishes weekly rankings of professional players, ATP Entry Ranking, a 52-week rolling ranking and until 2009, the ATP Race, a year to date ranking. The Entry Ranking is used for determining qualification for entry and seeding in all tournaments for both singles and doubles. Within the Entry Ranking period consisting of the past 52 weeks, points are accumulated, with the exception of those for the Tennis Masters Cup, whose points are dropped following the last ATP event of the year. The player with the most points by season's end is the World Number 1 of the year. At the start of the 2009 season, all accumulated ranking points have been doubled to bring them in line with the new tournament ranking system.
ATP Race was an annual race from season start to season end but was discontinued beginning in 2009[12]. Every player would start collecting points from the beginning of the season. At the end of the season, the ATP Race determined which players and teams (first eight for singles and first four for doubles) can compete in the Tennis Masters Cup, now called the World Tour Finals.
Current Rankings
Current Men's Singles ATP Rankings
Staff
Adam Helfant is the current Executive Chairman and President of ATP with Mark Young as the CEO of Americas. Laurent Delanney is the CEO of Europe while Brad Drewett heads as CEO of the International group.
The 7-member ATP Board of Directors includes Adam Helfant along with tournament representatives, Gavin Forbes, Mark Webster and Graham Pearce. It also includes three player representatives with two-year terms, Giorgio di Palermo as the European representative, David Edges as the International representative and Justin Gimelstob as the Americas representative. The player representatives are elected by the ATP Player Council.
The 10-member ATP Player Council delivers advisory decisions to the Board of Directors, which has the power to accept or reject the Council's suggestions. The Council consists of four players who are ranked within top 50 in singles (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Sam Querrey and Fernando González)[14], two players who are ranked between 51 and 100 in singles (Peter Luczak and Jarkko Nieminen), two top 100 players in doubles (Eric Butorac and Nenad Zimonjic) and two at-large members (Yves Allegro and Ashley Fisher).
See also
- 2010 ATP World Tour
- 2010 ATP Challenger Tour
- ATP Champions Tour
- International Tennis Federation
- Women's Tennis Association
- World Championship Tennis
- Grand Prix tennis tournaments
- ATP World Tour Awards
- ATP World Tour records
- List of ATP number 1 ranked players
- Tennis statistics
- Tennis male players statistics
References
External links
Grand Prix / ATP Tour seasons |
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1970 |
1971 |
1972 |
1973 |
1974 |
1975 |
1976 |
1977 |
1978 |
1979 |
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1980 |
1981 |
1982 |
1983 |
1984 |
1985 |
1986 |
1987 |
1988 |
1989 |
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1990 |
1991 |
1992 |
1993 |
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
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2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
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2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
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WCT circuit seasons |
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1968 |
1969 |
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1970 |
1971 |
1972 |
1973 |
1974 |
1975 |
1976 |
1977 |
NH |
NH |
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NH |
NH |
1982 |
1983 |
1984 |
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Tennis |
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Background and glossary |
History of tennis · Glossary of terms
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Grand Slams |
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Professional tours |
ATP Challenger Tour · ATP World Tour · ITF Men's Circuit · ITF Women's Circuit · WTA Tour
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Tennis shots |
Ace · Backhand · Backspin · Drop shot · Flat · Forehand · Groundstroke · Half volley · Lob · Serve · Overhead smash · Topspin · Volley · Passing shot
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Tennis strategy and techniques |
Grips · Serve and volley
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Tennis courts and surfaces |
Clay · DecoTurf · Grass · Plexicushion · Rebound Ace
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Equipment |
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Tennis technology |
Electronic line judge · Hawk-Eye · Cyclops
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Team events |
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Other |
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ATP World Tour 500 series (2009–current) |
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2009–current Rotterdam · Memphis · Acapulco · Dubai · Barcelona · Hamburg · Washington · Beijing · Tokyo · Basel · Valencia
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ATP World Tour 250 series (2009–current) |
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2009–current Doha · Chennai · Brisbane · Sydney · Auckland · Viña del Mar/Santiago · Zagreb · Johannesburg · Costa do Sauípe · San Jose · Marseille · Buenos Aires
Delray Beach · Houston · Casablanca · Estoril · Belgrade · Munich · Kitzbühel · Nice · Halle · London · 's-Hertogenbosch · Eastbourne · Newport · Båstad · Stuttgart
Atlanta/Indianapolis · Los Angeles · Gstaad · Umag · New Haven · Metz · Bucharest · Bangkok · Kuala Lumpur · Stockholm · Moscow · Lyon/Montpellier · Vienna · St. Petersburg
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Tournament categories 1998–2008 |
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ATP International Series Gold (1998–2008) |
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1998–2008 Memphis · Barcelona · Tokyo · Vienna · 1998–2001/2003–2008 Stuttgart · 1998 Antwerp · Philadelphia · New Haven · 1998–1999 Singapore
1998–2000 London · 1998–2002 Washington · Indianapolis · 1999–2008 Rotterdam · Kitzbühel · 2000–2008 Mexico City/Acapulco · 2001–2008 Dubai
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ATP International Series (1998–2008) |
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1998–2008 Adelaide · Doha · Chennai · Sydney · Auckland · Coral Springs/Delray Beach · Marseille · San Jose · Scottsdale/Las Vegas · Estoril
Majorca/Valencia · Orlando/Houston · Munich · Casablanca · St. Pölten/Pörtschach · Halle · London · 's-Hertogenbosch · Nottingham · Gstaad · Newport
Båstad · Amsterdam/Amersfoort · Umag · Los Angeles · Long Island/New Haven · Bucharest · Stockholm · Moscow · St. Petersburg · Lyon · Basel
1998/2000–2001 Bogotá · 1998–2001/2003–2008 Shanghai/Ho Chi Minh City/Mumbai/Bangalore · 1998/2000–2008 Santiago/Viña del Mar · 1998/2006–2008 Split/Zagreb
1998 Rotterdam · Kitzbühel · Ostrava · Mexico City · 1998–1999 Prague · Bologna Outdoor/Merano · Boston · 1998–2000 Dubai · San Marino · Bournemouth/Brighton · Toulouse
1998–2001 Atlanta · 1998–2002 Hong Kong · Tashkent · 1998–2003 Copenhagen · 1998–2006 Palermo · 2001–2005 Milan · 2002 Stuttgart
2001–2008 Buenos Aires · Sopot/Warsaw · Costa do Sauípe · 2003–2008 Indianapolis · Washington · Bangkok · Metz · 2004–2008 Beijing
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Tournament categories 1990–1997 |
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ATP Championship Series (1990–1997) |
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1990–1997 Philadelphia · Barcelona · Tokyo Outdoor · Stuttgart Outdoor · Washington · Indianapolis · New Haven · 1990 Toronto Indoor · 1990–1992 Brussels
1990–1994 Sydney Indoor · 1990–1995 Tokyo Indoor · Stuttgart Indoor · 1991–1997 Memphis · 1993–1997 Milan · 1996–1997 Antwerp · Vienna · 1997 Singapore
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ATP World Series tournaments (1990–1997) |
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1990–1997 San Francisco/San Jose · Kiawah Island/Charlotte/Birmingham/Pinehurst/Orlando · Munich · Estoril · Genoa/St. Polten · London · 's-Hertogenbosch · Newport · Gstaad · Bastad · Hilversum/Amsterdam · Los Angeles · Umag · Long Island · Moscow · Basel · Lyon · Adelaide · Wellington · Sydney Outdoor · Auckland · Rotterdam · Orlando/Atlanta · Hong Kong · Bologna · Kitzbuhel · San Marino · Palermo · Prague · Toulouse
1990 Memphis · Rio de Janeiro · Sanremo · Wembley · Itaparica · 1990–1991 Geneva · Berlin · 1990–1992/1996 Singapore · 1990/1992–1997 Casablanca · 1990–1992 Milan · Guaruja · Brisbane · 1990–1994 Manchester · Florence · Schenectady · Athens · Madrid · 1990–1995 Nice · Bordeaux · Vienna · 1990–1996 Seoul · Tel Aviv · 1991 Brasilia · Birmingham, UK · 1991–1992 Buzios · 1991–1993 Sao Paulo · Tampa · 1991–1997 Copenhagen · 1992 Maceió · Cologne · 1992–1993 Bolzano · Taipei · 1992–1994 Antwerp · 1992–1995 Johannesburg/Durban/Sun City · 1992–1997 Scottsdale · 1993–1994 Zaragoza · Osaka · 1993–1995 Kuala Lumpur · 1993–1996 Jakarta · 1993–1997 Doha · Delray Beach · Santiago/Vina del Mar · Marseille · Buenos Aires · Halle · Beijing · Bucharest · Birmingham, USA · Dubai · Mexico City · 1994 Oahu · 1994–1995 Montevideo · 1994–1997 Ostrava · Bogotá · 1995–1996 Bermuda · 1995–1997 Valencia/Marbella · Nottingham · Stockholm · St. Petersburg · Porto · 1996–1997 Chennai · Shanghai · Stuttgart Outdoor · Zagreb · Bournemouth · 1997 Boston · Tashkent
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ATP Challenger Tour Tretorn SERIE+ tournaments |
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Belgrade · Bergamo · Bratislava · Chuncheon · Cordenons · Dnipropetrovsk · Lugano · Mons · Poznań · Pozoblanco · Ramat HaSharon · San Marino · Rhodes · Scheveningen · Segovia · Seoul · Szczecin · Tunis · Turin · Wrocław
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World rankings · Top ten tennis players as of 29 November 2010 |
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