Desk guide

How the tours work

Short guides to the ATP, the WTA, the Challenger Tour, the ITF events, the Grand Slams, and the team cups. How a match is scored is on Tennis Rules. The longer timeline is History of Tennis.

Tours

MenATPMasters 1000 · 500 · 250The men’s tour. A season of Masters 1000, 500, and 250 events, with the Grand Slams and the Nitto ATP Finals on the same ranking.
WomenWTAWTA 1000 · 500 · 250 · 125The women’s tour. Ranking points come from the Grand Slams, the WTA 1000s, and the smaller events, and the season ends at the WTA Finals.

Smaller events

MenChallenger175 · 125 · 100 · 75 · 50The men’s circuit under the ATP Tour. The category number is the singles champion’s ranking points.
Men and womenITF / FuturesM15 · M25 · W15 to W100The ITF’s professional tournaments. Players still call the lowest ones Futures. The circuit’s name is the World Tennis Tour.

Majors

MajorsGrand SlamsFour events · 128-player drawsThe four majors sit on both tours. Each one is run by its own tournament, and each one is worth more ranking points than any other event.

Team cups

MenDavis CupNations · home-or-away tiesThe ITF’s men’s team championship. Nations play ties through the year, and eight of them meet for the trophy in November.
WomenBillie Jean King CupNations · ties · an eight-team FinalsThe ITF’s women’s team championship. Nations play home-or-away ties, and eight of them meet for a week at one site.
TeamsLaver CupEurope against the World · first to 13Three days, two teams, and a score that gets heavier as the weekend goes on. The first team to 13 points wins.
MixedWorld Team TennisThree clubs · six nights in DecemberA mixed professional league. Men and women on the same club share one match, and the 2026 season is six nights in December.

College

CollegeNCAADual matches · a 64-team bracketDivision I crowns a team champion in the spring and, in the current pilot, singles and doubles champions in the fall.

Competitions