How do tennis rankings work? Your Wimbledon questions answered

BBC Sport has been asking for your questions during Wimbledon 2025.

Hundreds of you have been in touch and we’ve picked out some of the best to take a look at.

Read on for insight from our Ask Me Anything team.

How do tennis players earn points from tournaments and how do they contribute to their rankings?

Mary in Windsor

Both the men’s (ATP) and women’s (WTA) rankings are based on points earned as part of a rolling 52-week cumulative process, with positions used to determine seedings at tournaments.

The men’s rankings are formed from a maximum of 20 tournaments, while the women’s are from 18.

In the men’s game, those 20 qualifying tournaments consist of the four Grand Slams, the ATP Finals, the eight mandatory ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, then the seven best performances at lower ranked-tournaments – including non-mandatory ATP Masters 1000 events, all ATP 500 series and all ATP 250 series.

For players not qualifying for the ATP Finals, 19 tournaments are counted.

In the women’s game, their 18 tournaments consist of the four Grand Slams, the ATP Finals, six WTA 1000 mandatory combined/virtually combined tournaments, one WTA 1000 mandatory tournaments consisting of WTA only players, then seven results from other events.

The number drops to 17 if they fail to reach the ATP Finals.

Ranking points are accumulated via wins and progression through tournaments, with higher-ranked events worth more points.

The ranking of a player’s opponent is generally not factored in when determining points.

The only exception is the United Cup, where points for both the ATP and WTA rankings are awarded based on the rankings of the opponents beaten.

Why do players keep balls in their pockets?

Sam

The general consensus is it is all to do with rhythm and comfort.

Flavio Cobolli said at Wimbledon was “normal” for players to keep tennis balls in their shorts, adding it felt more “comfortable”.

Teenager Mirra Andreeva said it was “easier to keep the focus between serves” – as having a ball more readily available means the second serve is sooner.

Ben Shelton agreed with both, saying “it takes a lot of time” for him to select the balls at the start of service, so having to do it again would disrupt his rhythm.

“There’s only two players I can think of off the top of my head that get the ball for their second serve from the ball kids, and that’s Venus Williams and Casper Ruud,” former player Naomi Broady told BBC Sport.

“We’re very superstitious as tennis players. You see the routines before the first serve, so taking the ball out of your shorts before your second serve becomes part of that same routine.”

What is the longest time it has taken to complete the men’s and women’s finals?

Clive in Coatbridge

The longest men’s singles final at Wimbledon was in 2019 between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.

The match lasted four hours and 57 minutes, with Djokovic winning 7-6 (7-5) 1-6 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 13-12 (7-3).

Prior to that, the longest men’s Wimbledon final was in 2008 between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, which was four hours and 48 minutes.

The longest women’s singles final was in 2005 between Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport.

The match, which Williams won 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 9-7, lasted two hours and 45 minutes.

Do tennis players practise sliding on grass?

David in The Wirral

One player who does not practise sliding on grass is defending men’s Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz.

Speaking to BBC Sport, he said he was sliding on grass at Queen’s prior to the start of Wimbledon, but it was a “natural” skill and added: “You put your muscle injury at risk so in the practices, I don’t do it.”

Another who does not practise sliding is Liudmila Samsonova. She said she felt that male players were “better” at sliding as they are “physically stronger”.

“I think the men are sliding more than the women, because they have more strength in their legs and everything,” said Samsonova.

“They are more explosive, they are physically more stronger than us, so I think they can do that better than us.”

What do players say to each other when they shake hands at the net at the end of a match?

Lizzie in Crediton

Following her quarter-final win over Laura Siegemund, world number one Aryna Sabalenka revealed what she said to the German.

“I said, like, ‘Whoa, girl, that’s impressive – really great game’ and she was congratulating me because it was a really emotional moment,” said Sabalenka.

“I couldn’t really put words together, but I just tried to tell her it was a really great match.”

Britain’s Alfie Hewett – defending wheelchair singles and doubles champion – said he finds it a “really awkward interaction”.

“If you’ve won, you can’t really say ‘good match’ because it feels like a double insult.

“Typically that is what you would say, you’d say: ‘Good match, thank you.’ Don’t know what you’d be thanking them for, playing not as good? It’s a really weird one!

“It depends on the relationship as well. I know quite a lot of the guys on tour, so it’ll be like: ‘You’ll get me next time.’ Or it could be ‘good luck in the doubles’, or something cheeky like that.”

Why do Centre Court and Court One start later?

Darren in Leicester

The All England Lawn Tennis Club has said the later start times compared to the other courts is in order to maximise the potential to have both show courts at full capacity when players come out.

Partly it is to give spectators the chance to explore the grounds before play on the show courts – and to maximise the experience of having a ‘day out at Wimbledon’.

That includes sampling the facilities, watching action on the outside courts, as well as taking in traditions that include strawberries and cream.

Staggered start times also help to manage the flow of spectators around the grounds at Wimbledon across the whole day.

This article is the latest from BBC Sport’s Ask Me Anything team.

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