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ATP Tour: what it is, what it looks like, and what fans need to know

By Harry Floyd

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 15: Roger Federer of Switzerland celebrates match point during his round robin match against Kevin Anderson of South Africa during Day Five of the Nitto ATP Finals at The O2 Arena on November 15, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 15: Roger Federer of Switzerland celebrates match point during his round robin match against Kevin Anderson of South Africa during Day Five of the Nitto ATP Finals at The O2 Arena on November 15, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
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The ATP Tour is the top level circuit for men’s professional tennis. Here is a look at what it entails and what fans should know.

Fans of men’s professional tennis follow the ATP Tour year in and year out. It is the elite level tour for the men’s side of the action with the ATP Challenger Tour being the second-tier tour and the ITF Men’s Circuit being the third tier tour. The best of the best compete throughout the year on the ATP Tour. Players such as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have become household names all around the world due to their success in men’s tennis.

At the end of the 2018 ATP Tour, Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic found himself back in the world number one position in men’s singles. He, like Federer and Nadal, has dominated the sport throughout the majority of his career.

The structure of the tour is as follows. It includes events that are ATP World Tour Masters 1000, ATP World Tour 500 series, and ATP World Tour 250 series. Along with these are the four Grand Slam tournaments overseen by the ITF or the International Tennis Federation.

ATP stands for Association of Tennis Professionals. It is the governing body for men’s professional tennis worldwide.

Grand Slams include the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. These unfold throughout the year in that order and, while overseen by the ITF, do award players ATP rankings points based on their performance.

At the end of the ATP Tour each year is an event called the ATP Finals. Most recently, it has taken place at the O2 Arena in London. Rising tennis star Alexander Zverev is the 2018 ATP Finals men’s singles champion, winning his first ever title at the year-end event. On the men’s doubles side of the action, Americans Jack Sock and Mike Bryan were the 2018 champions. The players ranked highest according to their ATP point totals qualify at the end of each year for the ATP Finals.

Next. Top 10 Young ATP Stars Today. dark

ATP stands for the Association of Tennis Professionals. The association is the governing body for men’s professional tennis worldwide. The WTA is the women’s equivalent. That is the Women’s Tennis Association and their tour is referred to as the WTA Tour. If you want to find out who’s who in women’s singles tennis, start with our MUST WATCH WTA PLAYERS LIST HERE.

The ATP Tour schedule stretches all the way from January through November each year. Tennis and sports fans all around the world track their favorite players throughout the tour.

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