Unofficial Real Tennis World Rankings

A new methodology of ranking real tennis players

This article describes the Unofficial Real Tennis World Rankings and its procedures. This project is a work in progress, please send me any feedback you may have.

Update March 2024: Most of the movement mid-table comes due to Nicolas Victoir’s upset win over Matthieu Sarlangue at the Raquette' d’Or in Bordeaux. The main introduction this month is the introduction of categories for the open singles and doubles rankings, this is used to provide qualification criteria for any tournaments that use these rankings

World Rankings Table

The below table shows the top 50 players in the Unofficial Real Tennis World Rankings, and the tournaments whereby they obtained their ranking points. Although the ranking list extends to approximately 1000 players at present, the full list will not be publically available here as a privacy consideration. The data source for the this is RealTennisOnline data. Tournaments for players in the top 100 are the subjects of articles and publications beyond RTO hence their inclusion here. To download this listing, use the “Get the data” button at the bottom of the table.

The Unofficial World Doubles Rankings uses the same tournament list, but only doubles-only tournaments. Points are awarded equally to both players in the pair. Only the top 6 tournaments are included — this is to reflect the fact that less doubles is played at major events than singles.

The Unofficial Women’s World Rankings uses a slighly different tournament list - in general the high participation Women’s events (British Open, Ladies World Championships pre-2024) see a large variation in playing standard so do not carry many points in the Open World Rankings. For the Women’s events, the categories are banded by 10 handicap points instead of 5, with the points equal to the lower of the two bands in the Open table (i.e. a Category E women’s event receives Category E2 points) The Ladies World Championship is fixed to be Category A, while the four Opens are fixed to be Category B. Only tournaments with a women’s only entry are included, so a player’s points will be different to the Open rankings. Only the top 20 ranking players are shown in the table below.

The Unofficial Women’s World Doubles rankings follows the same format as the singles, with categories carrying the same weighting. The best 6 tournaments in a 24 month rolling window are included.

Background

Handicaps have long been the standard by which we measure ability in real tennis. The modern numerical was first developed for the Leamington Open, and since the advent of RealTennisOnline (RTO) in 2001, they have become ubiquitous in real tennis, with one’s handicap often tied to one’s identity in the game. The broad concept of handicaps often works well, especially in setting odds for handicap tournaments.

However, dig below the surface and the cracks in the system begin to show. As a universal measure of ability, handicaps were co-opted into a de facto ranking system for use in seeding and cut-offs when entering level tournaments. This is a purpose handicaps were never designed to handle - it is the difference between a ranking system, which exists to reward perfomance in key events (e.g. the ATP rankings in lawn tennis), and a rating system, designed to measure relative ability (e.g. the Elo system in chess).

Seedings and cut-offs require stability in their ranking system - it not ideal for the ranking system to rapidly promote or demote players from single results. However, odds for matchmaking work best if their rating system is volatile. Say Alice and Bob play a friendly match off handicap every week. If Alice won last week, she ought to play off tougher odds this week. Real tennis handicaps attempt to compromise by making the rating adjustment very small, meaning Alice and Bob will generally play off the same odds every week, never challening them to improve. This makes its use as a rating system poorer, as it fails to keep up with fast-improving players (especially juniors) or re-adjust players whose handicap no longer matches their declining ability.

Using handicaps as a marker for tournament cut-offs encourages pervese incentives for players. Take, for example, the recent British Open in 2024, which has one of the most well-known handicap cuts at 15.4 for qualification. In that year, the lowest-rated main draw player was off 7.2 at the close of entries. For players just under the cut-off, they are incentivised to not enter any results, which may include avoiding entering tournaments, in order to maintain their level and ensure qualification. For players just over the cut-off, they are incentivised to enter any possible positive result to lower their handicap, which as the rules stand may include large handicap-difference social matches against friendly opposition. Also currently on RTO, there are 5 entirely inactive or retired players below the main draw cut-off, and 30 inactive or retired players below the qualification cut-off. These inactive or retired players could, by right, enter one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world without having to play and prove their ability throughout the rest of the year. Is this the best set of incentives we can put in place as a game to encourage competitive play at the top level?

Additionally, because the handicap system attempts to balance the total score in each match rather than the match winner, on occasion a better handicapped match winner can be penalised by beating a worse handicapped opponent if they do not win by a large enough score. Similarly, a worse handicapped player can be penalised by beating a better handicapped opponent if their handicap difference is too large and the result is recorded as a null (where the better handicapped player wins more games but loses the match). Such behaviour can be frustrating for match winners who wish to see their ranking improve after winning matches. Also, the inclusion of social matches alongside competitive matches for determining ranking points means that a player who performs well under pressure of a competitive match but is lackadaisical is social matches can fail to see their ranking improved.

IRTPA World Rankings

The deficiencies in the use of handicaps as a ranking system have long been understood, which is why for major events up to the first 15 entries are determined by the IRTPA World Rankings. The system was last updated in 2018, and now is based on the total prize purse available at each major event. The incentive structure generally works well, especially for the top 15 or so players who participate in every event.

However, the IRTPA World Rankings falls down in some key scenarios. First, only the top 16 players in each event are eligible for points, meaning players ranked ~17-50 are poorly measured by the system, including first round players in larger draws (e.g. the British Open) or qualifiers. The IRTPA World Rankings also award points for first round losers. Therefore, players who enter weaker 16-player draws (e.g. Australian and French Opens) earn points by just showing up, outranking players who enter stronger and larger draws (e.g. US and British Opens) that do not progress to the round of 16. Points for first round losers also has the effect of grandfathering in players into high rankings by simply showing up to future tournaments and collecting points for losing in the first round. This also encourages injured players to play in the first round rather than withdraw for their own health.

The IRTPA World Rankings are therefore a poorer measure of standard beyond the top 16 in the world, which is why they are not used for tournament seedings and entry outside of that level.

Unofficial Real Tennis World Rankings

The Unofficial Real Tennis World Rankings are a proposed system to better incentivise players compared to handicaps, and better rank players outside the top 15 when compared to the IRTPA World Rankings. The Unofficial Real Tennis World Rankings differs from the IRTPA World rankings in the following ways:

• Inclusivity. The IRTPA World Rankings only include Open tournaments and tournaments that receive prize monies. They must be open to all players, professional and amateur, and not impose any age, handicap or club membership restrictions. The IRTPA World Rankings currently only include 6-8 tournaments each year. The Unofficial Real Tennis World Rankings also consider closed tournaments which currently include approximately 200 tournaments including club championships, age group championships, amateur championships and national championships as well as a limited number of team-based competitions. This gives the Unofficial Real Tennis World Rankings a broader pool of data to consider especially beyond the world top 20

• Fixed points. The IRTPA World Rankings allocated to each tournament are proportional to the prize fund for the tournament. For players in the top 20 who regularly travel internationally this works fine, as it allows them to select tournaments with higher prize funds and encourages tournament organisers to put more money into their tournaments. However for the Unofficial Real Tennis World Rankings this is impractical because the vast majority of tournaments do not carry prize monies, and because some federations are able to put greater sums of monies into their second-tier players than others. Instead, the Unofficial Real Tennis World Rankings assign a point value to each tournament based on the historical average handicap at that tournament. Unlike the pre-2018 IRTPA World Rankings, these are fixed for each tournament and is not dependent on the quality of the field that enters. However, successive poor field qualities can demote a tournament to a lower points level

• Tournament Cap. The IRTPA World Rankings are the sum of all entered tournaments in the qualifying period. Because the Unofficial Real Tennis World Rankings consider a larger number of tournaments, in order to prevent prolific players increasing their ranking by attending a large number of tournaments, only a player’s best 8 (or 6 for the women’s rankings) in a 24 month period are considered. This also has the effect of mitigating the inclusion of closed tournaments - i.e. amateur championships, as in general there are a sufficient amount of tournaments available for players to build up their total.

• First round losses. The IRTPA World Rankings give points to all players in the round of 16. The Unofficial Real Tennis World Rankings give points only to match winners, regardless on where in the tournament draw their match win occurs. Partly, this is a practical consideration due to the large number of matches now being included. But also this rewards players who progress through tournaments and penalises high ranked players who do not progress.

• Womens. For the first time, the Unofficial Real Tennis World Rankings provides a Women’s World Ranking. This is based on performances in women’s only tournaments, primarily the four Opens, the World Championships and club championships.

Methodology

The Unofficial Real Tennis World Rankings provides a category rating for each tournament based on the historical average handicap entered in that event. The four national Opens and the World Championship are automatically assigned to the “Open” category. The other IRTPA sanctioned events are assigned to the “Pro” category. The remaining tournaments are ranked into categories with an average band of 5 handicap points (so a Cat C1 tournaments can expect entrants between 20 and 25 handicap). Only level tournaments are included, both singles and doubles, but not handicap tournaments.

For knock-out tournaments, the winners of each round are awarded points based on the table below. If a tournament has a qualifying draw or players receive a bye at certain rounds, then the points awarded for each round is equivalent to if it were a full draw (so the first round of the British Open gets Round of 32 points, and the final qualifying round gets Round of 64 points). If a tournament contains a round-robin or group stage, points are awarded for each match win (unless they progress to and win a later knock-out stage). The value of the points is determined by the number of players remaining at that stage in the competition. That number is rounded up to a power of 2, and divided by the number of matches played. Consider the qualification stages of the Champions Trophy, which is listed under the “Pro” category. At this stage, 14 players are left in the tournament, so the total value of points available is equivalent to a round of 16 win (i.e. 150 points). The players play 3 matches in their group, so the value for each match is 1/3 of the total number of points available (i.e. 50 points). After the division, the total points for that tournament is rounded to the nearest whole number. A separate rule applies to the IRTPA National League Divisions 3-10. There, each match win is worth 1/8 of the total number of points of a tournament winner of that divison’s category. The match wins are summed across the entire season, and each division and season can count at most as one tournament of the available eight.

Team tournaments are eligible for points only if the competition requires selecting the best available qualifying matches. For example, the Field and Pol Roger Trophy matches in the UK pick the best players available at each club; the Cockram Trophy picks the best players by country over 50 years of age so are eligible for inclusion. Tournaments and matches where the players are picked to give close or even matches to the opposition, such as touring club matches, are not included. The points available for a player in any given tournament are their best individual match win. For example, if a player loses a quarter final match, but their team still progresses to the semi final, and the player wins the semi final match then they are awarded points equivalent to a winning semi finalist. Where a tournament or match has multiple singles rubbers, the first string singles is awarded points equal to the tournament rating, and each subsequent string is awarded points equal to the next rating level below. So for a Cat B1 tournament, the first string singles is worth points equivalent to Cat B1, the second string singles is worth points equivalent to Cat B2, the third string singles is worth points equivalent to Cat C1 and so on.

A player is awarded points for their top 8 (6 for women’s rankings) tournaments in the past 24 months. No smoothing parameter is applied for older tournaments.

To reach a category, a player must acheive an average of points per tournament equal to or better than a quarter finalist for that category. If a player fails to complete the maximum number of tournaments, then they are assumed to have zero points for the purposes of calculating the average.

Tournament listings

Please note that the tournament listings are not exhaustive - there are several tournaments, e.g. club championships, for which the data available is incomplete. Once these tournaments are available they will be updated in these listings.

Open/Pro tournaments

• World Championships (IRPTA)

• Australian Open (ARTA)

• British Open (T&RA)

• French Open (CF)

• US Open (USCTA)

• US Pro Singles (USCTA)

• Champions Trophy (Royal Tennis Court)

Category A1 tournaments

• Victorian Open (ARTA)

• IRTPA Super League (IRTPA)

• USCTA National League (USCTA)

• US National Open (USCTA)

Category A2 tournaments

• Melbourne Open (ARTA)

• Tasmanian Open (ARTA)

• National League Div 1/2 (IRTPA)

• MCC Prizes (MCC)

• Tambour Tour (Tambour)

• Jesmond Dene Cup (Tambour/Jesmond Dene)

• Category A Open (T&RA)

• British Amateur (T&RA)

• Spring Invitational (USCTA)

• Jimmy Dunn Open Division (Philadelphia) ᴰ

• Alan Hamer Doubles (Melbourne) ᴰ

Category A2 matches

• Bathurst Cup (International)

Category B1 tournaments

• Australian Amateur (ARTA)

• Victorian Amateur (ARTA)

• Raquette d’Or (CF)

• National League Div 3 (IRTPA)

• Category B 10-14 (T&RA)

• Below Zero (USCTA)

• Hobart Class 1 Club Championship (Hobart)

• RMTC A Grade Club Championship (Melbourne)

Category B2 tournaments

• Tasmanian Amateur (ARTA)

• Coupe de Thélème (CF)

• National League Div 3/4 (IRTPA)

• National League Div 4 (IRTPA)

• US Amateur (USCTA)

• US Pro Satellite (USCTA)

• New York Silver Racquet Invitational (USCTA)

• US National U26’s (USCTA)

• Whitney Cup (USCTA) ᴰ

• Category B 15-19 (T&RA)

• Henry Leaf Doubles (T&RA) ᴰ

• Tambour Development Tour (Tambour)

• Johnson Cup (Leamington)

• Sampson Level Doubles (Leamington) ᴰ

• Pell Cup A Division (Newport) ᴰ

• Jimmy Dunn A Division (Philadelphia) ᴰ

• RMTC B Special Club Championship (Melbourne)

• Andy Dawson A Grade (Petworth)

• Queen’s Club Championship (Queen’s)

• Barker Camm Cup A Grade (Royal Tennis Court)

• Emsworth Cup (Seacourt)

• Tuxedo Gold Racquet (Tuxedo)

• Maltby Cup 10-19 (Wellington)

Category B2 matches

• Percy Finch Trophy (ARTA)

• Van Alen Cup (International)

• Clothier Cup (International)

• George Limb Cup (International)

• Pol Roger Trophy (T&RA)

Category C1 tournaments

• World Master’s Over 50’s (International)

• French Women’s Open (CF)

• National League Div 5 (IRTPA)

• British Under 21’s Open (T&RA)

• British Under 24’s Open (T&RA)

• British Over 40’s Open (T&RA)

• Category C 20-24 (T&RA)

• US Junior Under 19’s (USCTA)

• US Over 40’s Open (USCTA)

• US Over 50’s Open (USCTA)

• Coupe de Bordeaux (Bordeaux)

• Holyport Club Level Doubles A Division (Holyport) ᴰ

• Ellis Rich Doubles (Seacourt) ᴰ

Category C1 matches

• Cockram Trophy (International)

Category C2 tournaments

• World Masters Over 55’s (International)

• World Masters Over 60’s (International)

• World Masters Over 65’s (International)

• Australian Amateur U26’s (ARTA)

• National League Div 6 (IRTPA)

• Category C 25-29 (T&RA)

• Raquette d’Argent (CF)

• Greevy Cup (USCTA)

• Bordeaux Club Championship (Bordeaux)

• Cambridge 20-29 Championship (Cambridge)

• Canford Club Championship (Canford)

• Hertford Cup Division 1 (Hatfield)

• Hobart Class 2 Club Championship (Hobart)

• Holyport Club Championship (Holyport)

• RMTC B Grade Club Championship (Melbourne)

• MURTC Category A Club Championship (MURTC)

• Owen George (Moreton Morrell)

• Newport Club Championship (Newport)

• Coupe Gould Eddy (Paris) ᴰ

• Queen’s Club Ladies Championship (Queen’s)

• Radley Club Championship (Radley)

• Barker Camm Cup B Grade (Royal Tennis Court)

• Harris Watson Trophy (Royal Tennis Court) ᴰ

• Maltby Cup 20-29 (Wellington)

Category C2 matches

• Ladies Bathurst Cup (International)

• Bostwick Trophy (International)

• Field Trophy (T&RA)

Category D1 tournaments

• World Junior Championship (International)

• World Masters Over 70’s (International)

• Australian Women’s Open (ARTA)

• Tasmanian Open B Division (ARTA)

• Victorian Amateur B Division (ARTA)

• French Over 50’s (CF)

• British Over 50’s Amateur (T&RA)

• British Over 60’s Amateur Doubles (T&RA) ᴰ

• Category D 30-34 (T&RA)

• Billy Ross Skinner (LRTA) ᴰ

• US Over 50’s Open (USCTA)

• Coupe de Bordeaux B Division (Bristol)

• Barford Salver (Bristol)

• Hyde Bridport 30-39 Championships (Bridport)

• Andy Dawson B Grade (Petworth)

• Jimmy Dunn B Division (Philadelphia) ᴰ

• Kershaw Cup (Manchester)

• RMTC C Special Club Championship (Melbourne)

• Ivan Ronaldson Level Doubles (Prested) ᴰ

• Paul Weaver Doubles (Seacourt) ᴰ

• Maltby Cup 30-39 (Wellington)

Category D1 matches

• Percy Finch 2 (ARTA)

• Oxford vs Cambridge Varsity Men’s (MCC)

Category D2 tournaments

• Ladies World Championship (International)

• Raquette de Bronze (CF)

• National League Div 8 (IRTPA)

• British Ladies Open (LRTA)

• British Over 70’s Amateur (T&RA)

• Category D 35-39 (T&RA)

• Noll Cup (USCTA)

• Cambridge 30-39 Championship (Cambridge)

• Hatfield Club Level Doubles (Hatfield) ᴰ

• Hobart Class 3 Club Championship (Hobart)

• RMTC C Grade Club Championship (Melbourne)

• Alan Hamer B Division (Melbourne) ᴰ

• Pell Cup B Division (Newport) ᴰ

• Page Cup (Petworth)

• Barker Camm Cup C Grade (Royal Tennis Court)

Category E1 tournaments

• World Masters Over 75’s (International)

• Australian Amateur Women’s (ARTA)

• Australian Amateur U21’s (ARTA)

• National League Div 9 (IRTPA)

• Category E 40-44 (T&RA)

• National Schools A Grade (T&RA)

• US Ladies Open (USCTA)

• US Over 70’s Open (USCTA)

• Hertford Cup Division 2 (Hatfield)

• Hobart Class 4 Club Championship (Hobart)

• RMTC D Special Club Championship (Melbourne)

• RMTC Women’s A Grade Club Championship (Melbourne)

• MURTC Category B Club Championship (MURTC)

• Robinson Trophy (Petworth) ᴰ

• Jimmy Dunn C Division (Philadelphia) ᴰ

• Tuxedo Club Championship (Tuxedo)

Category E1 matches

• Brodie Cup (T&RA)

Category E2 tournaments

• Australian National D Grade Championship (ARTA)

• French Over 60’s (CF)

• Raquette de Laiton (CF)

• Dutch Closed Championship (DRTA)

• National League Div 10 (IRTPA)

• British Junior Open U18’s (T&RA)

• British Over 80’s (T&RA)

• Category E 45-49 (T&RA)

• Burke Cup (USCTA)

• Etchebaster Trophy (New York)

• Cambridge 40-49 Championship (Cambridge)

• Hobart Junior Club Championship (Hobart)

• RMTC D Grade Club Championship (Melbourne)

• Andy Dawson C Grade (Petworth)

• Prested Cup U20’s (Prested)

• Barker Camm Cup D Grade (Royal Tennis Court)

• RTC Chairman’s Cup (Royal Tennis Court)

• Luck-Hille Level Doubles (Wellington)

• Maltby Cup 40-49 (Wellington)

Category E2 matches

• Munoz Trophy (International) ᴰ

Category F1 tournaments

• Australian Amateur U21’s (ARTA)

• Category F 50-54 (T&RA)

• Cambridge 50-59 Championship (Cambridge)

• Inter-University Cup (Cambridge)

• Bostwick Cup (Cambridge)

• Chicago Mixed Doubles Club Championship (Chicago)

• Hertford Cup Division 3 (Hatfield)

• Hobart Class 5 Club Championship (Hobart)

• Hobart Women’s Club Championship (Hobart)

• Holyport D Grade Singles (Holyport)

• Radley Ladies Club Championship (Radley)

• Newport Club Championship B Division (Newport)

• Tuxedo Ladies Club Championship (Tuxedo)

• Maltby Cup 50-59 (Wellington)

Category F1 matches

• Oxford vs Cambridge Varsity Men’s Seconds (MCC)

Category F2 tournaments

• World Masters Over 80’s (International)

• Australian Amateur Women’s Masters (ARTA)

• Category F 55-59 (T&RA)

• National Schools B Grade (T&RA)

• US Ladies Invitational (USCTA)

• Wharton Cup (USCTA)

• Hyde Bridport 50-59 Championship (Bridport)

• Cambridge Ladies Club Championship (Cambridge)

• Newport Club Championship C Division (Newport)

• Andy Dawson D Grade (Petworth)

• Barker Camm Cup E Grade (Royal Tennis Court)

• Royal Tennis Court Junior Championships (Royal Tennis Court)

• Maltby Racket (Wellington)

Category G1 tournaments

• Australian Amateur U21’s B Division (ARTA)

• Australian Amateur U26’s B Division (ARTA)

• French Junior Open U19’s (CF)

• Girls U19’s World Championship (International)

• Category G 60-64 (T&RA)

• Hickey Cup (USCTA)

• Cambridge 60-69 Championship (Cambridge)

• Hobart Class 6 Club Championship (Hobart)

• Emsworth Bowl (Seacourt)

• Maltby Cup 60-69 (Wellington)

Category G1 matches

• Oxford vs Cambridge Varsity Women’s (MCC)

Category G2 matches

• British Junior Open U16’s (T&RA)

• British Junior Open U14’s (T&RA)

• Category G 65-69 (T&RA)

• Bristol Ladies Club Championship (Bristol)

• Hertford Cup Division 4 (Hatfield)

• Owen George 60-69 (Moreton Morrell)

• Newport Ladies Club Championship (Newport)

• Barker Camm Cup F Grade (Royal Tennis Court)

Category H1 matches

• French Junior Open U17’s (CF)

• French Junior Open U15’s (CF)

• Faulise Cup (USCTA)

• Dutch Ladies Championship (DRTA)

• Category H 70-74 (T&RA)

• Cambridge 70-79 Championship (Cambridge)

• Lawrence Cup (Cambridge)

• Hobart Class 7 Club Championship (Hobart)

• Holyport Junior Club Championship (Holyport)

• Owen George 70-79 (Moreton Morell)

• Andy Dawson E Grade (Petworth)

• Dougie Sharp Cup (Seacourt)

Category H2 matches

• French Junior Open U13’s (CF)

• National Schoolgirls U19’s Championship (LRTA)

• National Schoolgirls U15’s Championship (LRTA)

• British Junior Open U12’s (T&RA)

• Category H 75-79 (T&RA)

• Bristol Junior Club Championship (Bristol)

• Owen George 80+ (Moreton Morrell)

• Barker Camm Cup G Grade (Royal Tennis Court)

• Barker Camm Cup H Grade (Royal Tennis Court)

• Seacourt Junior Championships (Seacourt)

• Mallinson Racket (Wellington)

• Maltby Cup 70+ (Wellington)

Tournament listings (Women’s Ranking)

Category A tournaments

• Ladies World Championship (International)

Category B tournaments

• Australian Women’s Open (ARTA)

• French Open - Women’s Draw (CF)

• Ladies British Open (LRTA)

• US Ladies Open (USCTA)

Category C tournaments

• Ladies Bathurst Cup (International)

• Queen’s Club Ladies Championship (Queen’s)

Category E tournaments

• Australian Amateur Women’s (ARTA)

• RMTC Women’s A Grade Club Championship (ARTA)

Category F tournaments

• Australian Amateur Women’s Masters (ARTA)

• US Ladies Invitational (USCTA)

• CURTC Ladies Club Championship (Cambridge)

• Hobart Women’s Club Championship (Hobart)

• Radley Ladies Club Championship (Radley)

• Tuxedo Ladies Club Championship (Tuxedo)

Category G tournaments

• Girls U19’s World Championship (International)

• Bristol Ladies Club Championship (Bristol)

• Newport Ladies Club Championship (Newport)

Category H tournaments

• National School Girls U19’s Championship (LRTA)

• National School Girls U15’s Championship (LRTA)

• Lawrence Cup (Cambridge)

• Dutch Ladies Championship (DRTA)

Update 18 December 2024: Added Hobart Class 1-7, Junior & Women’s Club Championships, Tasmanian Open B Division, Australian National D Grade Championship, World Masters O50’s-O80’s.

Update December 2024: Benedict Yorston and Ned Batstone rise in the rankings following success in their National League Div 3 campaign. Oliver Pridmore and Noah Motz rise following discovery of data errors in the Hobart Class 1 Championship and US Open qualifying respectively.

Update 21 January 2025: Added Etchebaster Trophy

Update 29 January 2025: Added the Holyport D Grade Singles and Faulise Cup

Update January 2024: The 2025 Australian Open sees a shake up of the rankings, with points from the 2023 event falling off. That year’s winner, Chris Chapman, is the biggest fall, alongside Daniel and Michael Williams who did not partake in Hobart. Meanwhile, Rob Fahey recovers points 6 tournaments in to his singles comeback, while Australian Open finalist Kieran Booth moves into 6th place. This update also sees the inclusion of team events for ranking points, notably the Bathurst Cup, Pol Roger Trophy, VACL and Percy Finch tournaments, see below for a description.

Update February 2024: Robert Fahey’s stellar run at the US Open to the semi final sees him climbing three places up to 7th. The other big mover is Benedict Yorston, who reached the semi final of the British Amateur for the first time. The main update for this month is the first publication of the Unofficial Real Tennis World Doubles Ranking and the Unofficial Real Tennis Women’s World Doubles Ranking. The ranking list also now extends to the top 100 players in the Open draw.