The LTA has different ranking categories based on age, gender, and skill level. These categories include Junior, Senior, and Senior (35+) divisions, with further divisions based on age groups and performance levels. The top women’s tennis players and top men’s aren’t grouped together.
Of course, the LTA in itself is ranking players based on where they are from, and only applies to those who are based in the UK.
What is the Point of Tennis Rankings?
Each tennis tournament has its own winner, from the French Open at Roland Garros and other Grand Slam events, through to smaller local tournaments, so what is the point of these rankings? Well, it means a lot to be number one, but there are also a lot of other benefits to tennis rankings, for individuals as well as tournament organisers.
LTA’s explanation of the purpose of their rankings is:
💪🏻 To measure your standard of play.
🎾 To help select appropriate tournaments for you to play in.
🏓 To help determine your seeding in a tournament
Seeding is particularly important: is standard practice to ensure that top players are split in the draw and don’t play each other in the early rounds. Imagine if Wimbledon started with the four top-ranked players taking on one another. This could lead to two of the best being knocked out while some other players had much more straightforward runs to the latter stages.
The idea is that rankings help to prevent this from happening and bring the maximum entertainment in a tournament. This is also why some players enter at earlier qualifying rounds, based on their rankings.
How Tennis Rankings Work
The rankings system may be imperfect, but it is pretty good at working out where players stand at any given time.
One's combined ranking is made up of their best six singles plus 25% of their best six doubles results within the previous 52 weeks
There is one male and one female rankings list and each has age-group filters.
Where are these points coming from?
The simple answer is the tournaments that make up the tennis calendar.
The LTA sanctions various tournaments throughout the year at different levels, including national, regional, and club events. These tournaments are graded and assigned a specific point value based on their level, which contributes to a player's ranking.
Now that you have a better understanding of how the rankings work, try enrolling in tennis coaching sessions and start climbing up the ranks yourself!
How Often Are Tennis Rankings Updated?
The LTA updates the rankings periodically, usually on a monthly basis, to reflect the players' latest performances and results. The updated rankings are published on the LTA's official website for anyone to check.
The LTA publishes ranking lists that display the players' positions within their respective categories. These lists allow players to track their progress and compare themselves to others in their age and skill group.
By climbing to the top of the rankings, players can attract more interest from sponsors, enter more tournaments, and gain a lot more acclaim
If you want to see your own name on one of these lists, then you might want to put your head down and work hard in your tennis coaching sessions.
The ITF World Tennis Number
Along with tennis rankings in the UK, there is also something called the ITF World Tennis Number.
The number is effectively a rating between 40 and 1, which helps to differentiate the level of players. It means that absolute beginners start at the lowest ranking on the ITF scale, and have to try and work their way up.
However, this is not used for the same purposes. The ITF World Tennis Number is more for local players and tournaments to find a matchup that is suitable for their ability level.
Ranking Tennis Players by Age Group
The LTA is not just concerned with adult tennis. Their job is partially to nurture young talent as they improve their tennis skills, and this involves providing rankings for those at a younger age. Young players aren’t bundled in with the adults, after all!
Age groups include 11U, 12U, 14U, 16U, and 18U. Sometimes, players are competing above their actual age, which is why the LTA introduced “Play up rules” allowing them to be ranked at different levels. The rules are explained below.
| Player’s age group | Play up rules |
|---|---|
| 11U | At least three singles and three doubles events from your own age group and up to three singles and three doubles from 12U and 14U including international results. |
| 12U | At least three singles and three doubles events from your own age group and up to three singles and three doubles from 14U and 16U including international results. |
| 14U | At least three singles and three doubles events from your own age group and up to three singles and three doubles from 16U and 18U including international results. |
| 16U | Six singles and six doubles events from 16U, 18U or open events including international results. |
| 18U | Six singles and six doubles events from 18U or open events including international results. |
Current UK Tennis Rankings
Let’s take a look at the current tennis rankings. Remember that these change very regularly, so this just gives a snapshot of what tennis is like at a specific time.
British Male Tennis Player Ranking
These rankings are correct at the time of this article publication:
2. Cameron Norrie was born in South Africa and began playing tennis at just 6 years old, turning pro in 2017.
3. Jacob Fearnley. Originally from Edinburgh, Fearnley broke into the world's top 100 for the first time in 2024.
4. Billy Harris
5. Dan Evans
6. Paul Jubb
7. Jan Choinski
8. Jay Clarke
9. Charles Broom
10. Oliver Crawford
British Female Tennis Player Ranking
2. Emma Raducanu, born in Canada, but raised in the UK, she won the US Champion in 2021.
3. Harriet Dart, 78th on the World Ranking, she competes in mixed doubles, women's doubles and singles.
4. Sonay Kartal
5. Heather Watson
6. Yuriko Lily Miyazaki
7. Francesca Jones
8. Amarni Banks
9. Jodie Burrage
10. Emily Appleton
Along with male and female rankings, there are also doubles rankings, which use a very similar system to establish the top doubles players in the country at the moment.
Finding quality tennis lessons near me opens the door to improving your tennis skills and mastering the game.
UK Junior Tennis rankings
The junior circuit in the UK has high competitiveness since the age of eight or nine with tournaments such as the Youth and National League, the County Cup, County Championships, Lexus Tour, and many more...
Before their teen years, junior tennis players may have made face to the same sacrifices, such as leaving their places of origin to train with the best coaches, adapting to a new language, and attending school online, among other discipline parameters to excel in their discipline.
Exactly as at the professional level, they prepare intensely in single and double mode, and spend the year playing around the world; more practice and more matches equals more points in the ranking, an imperative phase to achieve the great dream: competing for Grand Slams.
In the UK, is also the LTA who manages junior tennis rankings (international tournament performances are also factored in if they meet this association’s criteria).
The ranking system for Junior British Tennis Players combines points from players’ top singles and doubles performances over 52 weeks and determines each player's national standing across age groups: 11U, 12U, 14U, 16U, and 18U.
Only points from LTA-sanctioned tournaments (Grades 1 to 5) are eligible for ranking, with higher-grade events awarding more points; rankings affect tournament seedings, ensuring top players don’t face each other in early rounds.
Young British tennis players shine on their constant performances around the globe, showcasing their skills at major UK events and international tournaments and earning wildcards for prestigious events like Wimbledon junior championships and other high-tier competitions.
These are the British tennis players that currently rank in the Junior category for Boys and Girls at the ITF:
Junior British Male Tennis Ranking
- Charlie Robertson
- Oliver Bonding
- Viktor Frydrych
- Benjamin Gusic Wan
- Luke Hooper
Junior British Female Tennis Ranking
- Mika Stojsavljevic
- Mingge Xu
- Hannah Klugman
- Flora Johnson
- Gabia Paskauskas
Global Tennis Rankings
The international tennis rankings are not handled by the LTA. Instead, the international tennis rankings are managed by two main organisations: the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for men's tennis and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for women's tennis.
These use a very similar points-based ranking system to determine the rankings of players on the international stage.
Globally, tournaments are categorized into different levels, which have a corresponding point value assigned to them. The highest-level tournaments include Grand Slam events (such as the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open) and ATP/WTA Tour Masters 1000 events. Other tournament categories include ATP/WTA Tour 500 events, ATP/WTA Tour 250 events, and International events.
The ATP and WTA update the rankings weekly to reflect the players' latest performances and the tournament results.
Though the system for global tennis rankings is very similar in terms of how it works, it is obviously drawing from a bigger pool.
In the Open Era, Andy Murray is the only British male tennis player to reach the world number one spot based on the global tennis rankings.
Finding Your Tennis Ranking
Tennis rankings aren’t just about the top 10. There are thousands of players in the UK who are in the LTA ranking system. If you are a member competing in competitive tennis at any of the LTA age groups, you can head to the LTA website to check the rankings for each age group, which are updated every Friday. For players eager to elevate their game further, searching for tennis lessons near me in Birmingham can be a game changer.
Full UK tennis rankings can be found in this database, with different age ranges and genders.
Summary – How Rankings Are Crucial to Tennis
The tennis world relies very heavily on its ranking system. It is how the entrants to tournaments are decided, and how matchups are made within those tournaments based on seedings.
Reaching the top of the rankings is also an incredibly meaningful thing for British male and female tennis players and while it doesn’t bring prize money or a trophy, it shows that somebody is at the very top of their game.
Have a look online for tennis lessons near me to get started on your own journey!
Key Takeaways
- The importance of the Tennis Ranking System: The sport relies hugely on it as the season lasts all year and certain events are open for certain rankings of players. It is also a real badge of honour for them.
- The United Kingdom tennis rankings follow a system similar to international tennis rankings.
- The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is responsible for managing tennis rankings in the UK, using a points-based ranking system to determine the rankings of British male tennis players and Female players within various categories and ages.
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