From the 1st January, the FIR World Rankings will be recalculated using a new points matrix. There are five classes of tournament, each worth a different value of points with World Championships worth the most points and Satellite tournaments worth the least. For winning the elite singles, these currently return
- World Championships – 2000 points
- Super World Tour – 1500 points
- International World Tour – 1125 points
- Challenger – 844 points
- Satellite – 633 points
meaning that winning 3 challengers would earn an Elite player more points than winning the World Championships. However when you consider the strength of the field and the size of the draw, the outlay of effort does not feel to be the same.
The new system will increase the number of points for winning the World Championships and Super World Tour titles, while decreasing the points on offer for winning Challenger and Satelitte titles, so that winning the elite category will now earn a player:
- World Championships – 4000 points
- Super World Tour – 2000 points
- International World Tour – 1000 points
- Challenger – 500 points
- Satellite – 250 points
The changes to the Elite points are scaled through the B, C and D categories and similarly through the Junior and Senior age categories; and the way these points are calculated remains the same, the increase in winning the Elite shown here will filter down through all the grades. Similarly, the method by which ranking points are calculated will remain un-changed, a players World Ranking will be based on their best 8 results over a 2 year period (a maximum of 1 World Championships, and 3 SWTs in that set of 8) plus the best 2 challenger or satellite results not included in that 8 already.
The FIR feels that this will reward players who succeed at the biggest events and in-turn draw stronger fields to all our flagship tournaments. An additional benefit to this change is that tournaments with large draws, such as the Men’s B or C at a World Championships will have more points on offer for players who lose opening round matches.
The new points will go live on 1st January, with all eligible tournaments in the past 2 years recalculated. As such it is inevitable that players will notice a change in their ranking, however analysis by the FIR does not anticipate any drastic changes. Please also note that this will also apply to the FIR Tour Race for the 2025 season onwards.