Jack Draper: How does tennis ranking work after public injury in the United States?

Protected rankings allow tennis players to stay away from the sport, usually due to injuries.

If their rankings are too low on breaks to automatically qualify, the outstanding players use their majors and other matches’ main draws or qualifying matches.

The main draw to the Grand Slam depends on the world ranking, with a cut-off of about 100. Protected rankings allow players who exceed this critical value to enter directly through the main draw.

Protected rankings cannot be used to get seeds, which means players entering the Grand Slam may face top players in the game.

When a player can be absent from any tennis match for at least six months, the player can therefore petition the ATP or WTA (the governing body of men and women tennis respectively) for a protected ranking.

Women who make a comeback after maternity leave are also eligible.

On the male side, the average ranking within three months of injury calculated the ranking of protected. They can use this ranking in the first nine games after making a comeback – whichever is the first. However, if the player is out for more than a year, it will be extended to 12 tournaments/month.

On the women’s side, their rankings remain the same as those at the time of injury. They can use eight games in a season and if they missed for more than a year, they can play eight games in eight games.

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