Tennis is one of the oldest sports. The ball game appeared long before our era. Initially, it was a noble entertainment for representatives of the upper classes. Over time, everyone started to play tennis. Today, tennis is one of the most prestigious sports. The fees of professional players are a tidy sum with six zeros.
Rating History
At the beginning of the XX century, tennis from the category of a sport purely for the sake of pleasure and recognition became professional. Athletes begin to perform at demonstration matches in front of spectators who buy entrance tickets. With the development of such tournaments, the foundation of prize pools begins. The winner receives a substantial fee and recognition of competitors.
In 1972, the ATP Men's Tennis Association was founded. A year later, after serious financial discrimination against women tennis players in terms of fees, a women's tennis association was founded.
Each organization has its own rating table. During the season, tennis players take part in a certain number of professional tournaments. And the judges calculate the number of points. The counting system is quite complex, each tournament has a certain significance. Winning several Grand Slam tournaments and final international competitions, reaching the Wimbledon finals, you can secure yourself the first line of the rating.
There is a situation that athletes participate in most tournaments and secure their leadership without having victories in the Grand Slam tournament. Such embarrassment occurred between Russian Safina and American Williams. The dark-skinned diva expressed surprise at the Dinara championship in the standings without winning the main tournament of the season.
The Professional Tennis Association was founded in 1973. To become the first racket of the world among men, you need to score the most points by winning in such tournaments: Grand Slam Tournaments, ATP 1000 Series, ATP 500 Series, ATP 250 Series, Challenger and Masters Cup.
The first racket of the world
Men and women, professional tennis players, strive to get to the first steps of the rating. This provides the athlete with not only status, but also decent fees. As a rule, such athletes act in films, films, and are actively engaged in business and charity. Moreover, the first racket of the world, women and men, become the faces of advertising campaigns of the largest brands producing sportswear and equipment.
For the entire existence of the rating, 25 tennis players became the first racket of the world among men. The most striking of them - the Swiss Roger Federer - 302 weeks led the standings. The humble Meat Sampras was the first racket of the world for 286 weeks. Czech Ivan Lendl was the leader in the ranking for 270 weeks. American Jimmy Connors in 1973 won the championship and held it for 268 weeks.
The women's standings since 1973 have 20 athletes who have climbed to the top of the table. The list of the first women rackets in the world is headed by Steffi Graf. For ten years with short breaks, she held the lead in tennis. Her constant rival, American Martina Navratilova, led 332 weeks. Another American Chris Evert led the standings of 260 weeks. Serena Williams is the first racket of the world for 257 weeks. Who knows, maybe she will break all records.
The first racket of the world in 2015: women
This tennis season and its winners did not come as a surprise to fans of tennis. After her triumphant return in 2011, Serena Williams now and then becomes the winner of the courts. In 2015, Wimbledon-winning Serena is again the first racket of the world. After a severe trauma and illness, Williams was able to recover, return to tennis and at her 31st year again become the best. On her personal account, 90 victories in Grand Slam and WTA tournaments. She became the third in the ranking of the best tennis players in history in terms of the number of tournaments and cups won. In 2012, Serena won the Olympics.
The best tennis players in the world according to ATP
As predicted by Andre Agassi, the first player in the standings , Novak Djokovic will remain the leader this season. The predictions came true, the Serb again - the first racket of the world.
The talented Novak began his sports career at the age of four. In 2011, his triumphal procession began in the world of tennis. Winning a second time at the Australian Open, Novak began his unbeaten series of tournaments, winning 42 games in a row.
In the summer of 2011, Novak reached the Wimbledon finals, thereby securing first place in the standings. Djokovic ended the year 2013 in the status of the second racket of the world. In 2014 and 2015 the talented serb was in good shape. On September 13, 2015, at the US Open finals, Djokovic met Roger Federer for the seventeenth time and won with confidence, confirming the title of the strongest tennis player in the world.