WTA Rankings 2026

The Women's Tennis Association or WTA uses a system that dictates the ratings of the world's best professional women's tennis players. The WTA rankings use a few measures to confirm the best players in the world.

History

The WTA tennis organization was formed in 1973, five years into the Open Era of tennis. The WTA provides representation for women who compete as tennis professionals.

The WTA established its ranking system in 1975. The system determines the best women in the sport based on how well they compete in various tournaments. Competitors earn points based on how they finish in these events. The system emphasizes high-level competitions with high standards for performance.

The move is similar to what the Association of Tennis Professionals uses for men. National tennis federations and tournament operators used to dictate who could qualify to compete. The ranking system made it easier for people to plan tournaments while being fair.

Calculation

The WTA rankings are calculated by looking at the performances of professionals in the past 52 weeks. A player's rating is dictated by looking at her results from those 52 weeks from up to 16 singles tournaments or 11 doubles tournaments. The best performances in the qualifying events will go into the competitor's score.

A player must have ranking points in at least three tournaments to receive a rank. She may also qualify by earning ten or more singles or doubles ranking points in at least one competition.

Each competitor receives WTA rankings points based on where she finishes in a tournament. The professional will earn more if she goes further or wins. Some WTA opens may also be worth more points based on how difficult it may be to qualify for those events. Grand Slam and WTA Finals competitions provide more points, for instance.

Tournament Types and Points

Grand Slams

The Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open are the most valuable events. The point totals include the following:

Winner - 2000

Finalist - 1300

Semifinalist - 780

Round of 128 - 10

People can also earn up to 40 points for reaching certain qualifier events.

WTA Finals

The WTA Finals in Shenzhen is the most valuable non-major event.

Winner - 1500

Finalist - 1080

Semifinalist - 750

Players earn 125 points for each round-robin match appearance and another 125 for each win.

WTA Premier

All WTA tennis professionals must compete in various Premier events to retain their professional status:

• The four Mandatory tournaments (Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Beijing) are the most valuable with people earning up to 1000 points.
• The Premier 5 events (Doha, Rome, Cincinnati, Toronto/Montreal, Wuhan) provide up to 900 points.
• The twelve standard Premier events give up to 470 points.

International Events

There are 34 international events in the WTA tennis season each year.

Winner - 280

Finalist - 180

Semifinalist - 110

Round of 32 - 1

ITF Events

Women can also compete in International Tennis Federation events to earn points. The points one can earn will vary based on the monetary value of the event. A $10,000 event provides 12 points to the winner, while a $100,000 open has 150 points for the first place.