The ITF World Tennis Number is a new rating system for all tennis players (aged 10 and above) across the world which will make it easier for everyone who plays tennis in Britain to organise and play against opponents of a similar standard.

Whether you’re playing at Wimbledon (we can dream), or just meeting a friend to play matches at your local court (much more likely), everyone’s welcome – and everyone will have their own World Tennis Number. 

The WTN is a world-wide rating system that ranges from 40 (recreational players) to 1 (pro players) - players with an ATP/WTA ranking will be listed as PRO. Players will have a seperate WTN for Singles and Doubles.

The World Tennis Number algorithm uses match results from 2016 onwards to calculate a player’s number. When players compete, it analyses the pre-match rating of both players. The algorithm then predicts what it thinks the outcome of the match will be. Players’ Numbers will change depending on the actual match score and how it compares to the prediction.

The more results the system holds, the better the algorithm will understand a player’s ability, and therefore, its “confidence” in the Number will increase.

Match results are analysed at set level, meaning the algorithm takes into account each individual set as its own result.