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ROGERS RANKINGS - FAQWhat are the Rogers Rankings? The Rogers Rankings are a national and provincial ranking system that has been launched by Tennis Canada and the Provincial Tennis Associations on January 1, 2009. How was the framework for the Rogers Rankings developed? This enhanced ranking system is the direct outcome of more than three years of meetings and research of international and national best practices. The goal was to build a well-organized and accurate ranking and events management structure to help promote competition at all levels. The entire country will work from a customized common competitive database called BASELINE to manage events, integrate schedules, plan calendars and unify rankings. How was the concept for the Rogers Rankings derived and has it been tested/used before? The new national ranking system is based on the innovative and proven CHESS ELO ranking system. Tennis Quebec has been using this framework for more than 20 years with exceptional ranking accuracy. The ELO ranking system has been built into the new BASELINE management system, using head-to-head (quality of wins) results to determine rankings versus rounds won - thus making it so effective. Click here to view the ELO point tables. The BASELINE management system is Web based, thus allowing anyone with an internet connection the ability to track their ranking, draws and view historical results as events are being played. All sanctioned matches will now count towards a player's provincial and national ranking at all levels. The new ranking system will rank all players irrespective of age. Every player competing nationwide will be able to compare themselves to Canada's top players, such as Frank Dancevic or Aleksandra Wozniak. Rankings will be updated on a weekly basis and the information can be filtered to meet provincial and national needs (i.e. age specific, province and region). How does the Rogers Rankings system work? The Rogers Rankings connects all the Provincial Tennis Associations and Tennis Canada into the new BASELINE competitive database. The rankings are based on quality of wins versus the current format which awards points according to rounds reached. The system evaluates the calibre of competing players. Therefore, based on this premise, the stronger player is expected to win while the weaker player is expected to lose. Competitors earn points subject to their wins and losses and these points are used to compute national and provincial rankings. What events are used to determine these rankings? Provincial, national and international tournaments/events sanctioned by the Tennis Canada Ranking Committee will be eligible for ranking purposes. Any sanctioned match has the potential to count towards the new ranking system thus allowing league and club matches to possibly count down the road. For a demonstration of how the system works, click here. Who sits on the National Ranking Committee? The committee is comprised of six regional provincial staff members in addition to Tennis Canada's director of national events and manager of tennis development. What are the benefits of the Rogers Rankings? In the past, Tennis Canada and all Provincial Tennis Associations used different ranking systems and competitive databases. This fragmented approach did not allow for optimal ranking accuracy, efficiency or effectiveness. In addition, the ranking information and system was not updated regularly nor did it allow for the integration of national calendars and schedules with provincial events. The following highlights additional benefits: i. The Rogers Rankings is a system that will unify provincial and national competitive databases. Players will be able to compare themselves to all provincial and national competitors. I.e. an U12 competitor will be able to compare their level with Canada's top ranked male or female players (Frank Dancevic or Aleksandra Wozniak) by analyzing their difference in ranking points. This ranking format is consistent with many international best practices to include the highly competitive nations of Spain, France and Germany. ii. Ranking accuracy will improve due to the nature of the head-to-head ranking system. iii. Players will have the ability to track their ranking online and view match-by-match details. iv. Rankings will be generated on a weekly basis. v. Additional potential competitive opportunities will be available given the nature of the head-to-head system. This includes league and club match play in the future. How is a competitor's initial point value determined? Tennis Canada and the Provincial Tennis Associations have struck national and provincial ranking committees to assign current competitive players with an initial ranking using provincial, national, and international results and rankings as guidelines to make subjective decisions. There will likely be some errors made but over time, the system will adjust given the head-to-head nature. Will a player have a different national and provincial ranking? Players will have the same ranking points for their national and provincial ranking. However, their placement in a ranking list may differ. For example, Player "A" will have 2000 points regardless of whether or not that player is viewing the national or provincial rankings. Player "A" may have a provincial ranking of No. 1, but may be ranked No. 5 nationally depending on the points of other players in their category. How often will the Rogers Rankings be updated nationally and provincially? The Rogers Rankings will be updated every Wednesday / Thursday evening. Since the Rogers Rankings will be programmed using the Baseline management system, all results (provincial and national) will be stored in a common competitive database. Provincial and national updates will be done simultaneously. Will international events be counted towards the Rogers Rankings? If so, which ones will count? International events will count towards the Rogers Rankings to include ATP, WTA and ITF sanctioned events. All ATP and WTA tour events, in addition to ITF Grade A, B, 1 & 2 events will be counted towards the Rogers Rankings. International results will be manually entered into the system on a monthly basis. Do the Rogers Rankings use a star value designation? The system uses a star value system to highlight the importance of the high profile events. What is the purpose of the star values assigned to tournaments? This feature enhances the head-to-head nature of the ranking system. A tournament with a higher star value can result in higher point gains or losses. How are tournament star values be determined? The National Ranking Committee developed the criteria that will be used for determining national and provincial tournament star values. Top star values are generally correlated with top level international, national and provincial events.
How will rankings be categorized? Rankings will be displayed in 3 separate categories. A general overall list based on gender, an age eligible list, and a primary age list. The general list includes all players ranging from juniors to adults. The age eligible list includes all players at or below the age category specified. For example, the U18 category will list all players from 12 to 18 years of age. The primary age list will display players meeting the age specification only. For example, the U16 list will only include players aged 15 and 16. How am I able to improve my ranking? Players are able to improve their ranking by defeating higher ranked players. Wins over players that have significantly higher ranking points will significantly improve your ranking points. Wins over players that are ranked significantly lower will result in slight increases to your ranking points. What happens if I have a bad loss? Losses to players that are ranked considerably lower than you will result in substantial point losses to your own ranking points. Losses to players that are ranked slightly lower will result in slight decreases to your ranking points. Will I lose ranking points if I default a match? Players that withdraw from a sanctioned event after the draw has been made (default match) will automatically lose points while their opponent will automatically earn 20 points for a win by default. Players will lose 20 points for each of the first two defaults, and 50 points for a third default. Three defaults within a 12 month window will result in a suspension from sanctioned tournaments for a period of three months. Once the suspension is lifted, the player will be reinstated with 50 less ranking points (for his / her third default). Players that retire from a match while it is in progress will lose points as if they had lost a regular match. Click here for further details. I have noticed an inaccuracy in my ranking points, how do I correct that? Errors will occur from time to time and they may affect your ranking, the ranking of your opponent, and the rankings of other players. Inaccuracies in national results should be reported to Tennis Canada as soon as they are observed as there is a management system in place to effectively correct any errors made. Under these circumstances, rankings will be manually adjusted if the challenge is substantiated. All errors must be reported within a one month timeframe of the actual event. An e-mail will be sent to yourself and your opponent to verify the correction once it is complete. My opponent did not have ranking points when we played, will that result count towards my ranking? Results against players that do not have an initial ranking will be counted towards the rankings once the unranked player becomes ranked (so long as the unranked player becomes ranked within a 12 month timeframe). The BASELINE ranking system has a built-in feature that automatically checks for this each time a ranking is run. Once the unranked player in question becomes ranked, the result will be counted retroactively for both players during the next ranking period. This explains why a person's ranking may change even if they did not play a match since the last ranking period. How do "unranked" players become "ranked"? In order for an unranked player to become ranked, a player must accumulate at least one win and two losses against players who are already ranked over the course of 12 months. Players can only obtain an initial ranking after they have been assigned a temporary ranking. In calculating a temporary ranking, the system calculates the average of a player's initial performances. It is important to note that in the calculation of the temporary ranking, wins and losses against players who have more than 300 points of the average of other wins and losses, will not count. For example, if Player "A" competes in four matches against opponents with the following ranking points: 2000, 2200, 3100, and 2150, the system will only count the matches against the players with 2000, 2200, and 2150 points in the calculation of a temporary ranking. This rule is in place to prevent a player from being ranked too high or too low compared to their real level of play as they enter the ranking system. For the same reason, wins and losses by default are not considered in the calculation of the temporary ranking. If Player "A" defeated the opponent with 2200 points, lost to the player with 2000 points, and lost to the player with 2150 points, he would receive a temporary ranking of 2138. This is calculated as follows: i.Losses (average) -> 2000 + 2150 = 4150 divided by 2 = 2075 ii. Wins (average) -> 2200 iii. Temporary Ranking (average) -> 2075 + 2200 = 4275 divided by 2 = 2138 Since Player "A" has a temporary ranking, all of his results will now be used for calculating his initial ranking. See below for calculation (assuming that the tournament is a 3 star event).
In the above case, Player "A" would have had a temporary ranking of 2138 and an initial ranking of 2180. The player would appear on a ranking list with 2180 points. Will the Rogers Rankings be used for team selections? The Rogers Rankings are not necessarily the only criteria to be used for team selection. Each team representing Canada has their own criteria for team selection, which may include the Rogers Rankings. Will the Rogers Rankings be used for tournament seeding? Once the Rogers Rankings are established and proven, they will be used as one of the primary sources for seeding at all events in Canada. However, during the initial stages of the Rogers Rankings launch, rankings may be looked at by tournament directors for seeding purposes, but will most likely be a complementary source along with other seeding criteria. Where will I be able to view my Rogers Ranking? All provincial rankings can be found by visiting your affiliated provincial website. National rankings will be available on the Tennis Canada website (www.tenniscanada.com/rogersrankings). Will the Rogers Rankings head-to-head system include senior events? Currently, senior results will not be included in the head-to-head Rogers Rankings. Tennis Canada will work with all Provincial Tennis Associations, as well as the Seniors Tennis Committee to separately test senior results. This will allow us to properly launch the senior rankings with accuracy in the future, as well as provide all senior competitors with an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the Rogers Rankings. Senior players that compete in non-senior categories will be ranked in the Rogers Rankings general lists. Will wheelchair competitors have a head-to-head Rogers Ranking? Wheelchair rankings will adopt the same head-to-head format used with able-bodied competitors beginning in 2010. Will doubles results be included in the Rogers Rankings? Doubles results are being compiled on the BASELINE system, but will not be counted towards the head-to-head ranking. Tennis Canada will explore the possibility of including a separate doubles ranking for the future. Is it possible for a Canadian player to be ranked ahead of a fellow Canadian player on the WTA, ATP, and ITF rankings, but behind that same player on the Rogers Rankings? This is very possible. The WTA, ATP, and ITF use round based systems where rankings are determined over a 52 week period. During this period, players are required to defend points from the previous year. These two factors can lead to differences in comparison to the Rogers Rankings. The Rogers Rankings do not require a player to defend points from previous tournaments since it is primarily concerned with the quality of wins and losses. At the WTA, ATP, and ITF level, it is possible for players that compete against lower calibre opponents to increase their respective ranking. This is not possible in the Rogers Rankings system. Will participating in tournaments in other provinces help my ranking? Since the Rogers Rankings take both national and provincial results into account, it is possible that participating in tournaments outside of your own province may help improve your ranking. This is only true if your opponents are at or above your level. What have been some of the challenges experienced since launching the Rogers Rankings? Overall, the Rogers Rankings have been working as expected; ranking calculations are accurate and players are fluctuating based on their results. Additionally, the Rogers Rankings appear to be accurately representative within each province. The main challenge identified has been the correlation of rankings between provinces; statistics have indicated that some provincial points are higher than others, which has an impact on the national standings. While the logistics of a head-to-head system suggest that such variances will be worked out over time, the National Ranking committee agrees that manually adjusting player points will be the quickest and most beneficial solution for all. As a result, the National Ranking committee has conducted a full audit of the rankings and players have been adjusted. The committee also agreed to utilize 2010 as a new start to the Rogers Rankings as it relates to player initialization and point calculations. Where will I be able to view my rankings? All provincial rankings can be found by visiting your affiliated provincial website. National rankings will be available on the Tennis Canada website (www.tenniscanada.com/rogersrankings). Do I need to be a member of my provincial association in order to appear on the ranking lists? Yes, all players with a current membership and that are in good standing with their provincial tennis association are eligible to appear on the Rogers Rankings. |
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