Tennis Statistics Glossary

Official Ranking

A player's position in the official ATP or WTA singles rankings for a dated snapshot. Lower is better: No. 1 is the top-ranked player. Ranking systems and point schedules have changed across eras.

Ranking Snapshot

A dated official ranking list used for current, weekly, and year-end views. Snapshot dates matter because rankings can change during the season and historical weekly coverage is not equally complete in every era.

Season Age

A player's age at the end of June in the calendar season. TennisDB uses this fixed midseason date when aligning age-based seasons; it differs from exact age on a match or ranking date.

Main-Draw Scope

Unless a page says otherwise, TennisDB records and leaderboards use completed main-tour singles matches in the main draw. Qualifying is tracked separately, and team or exhibition events may be excluded from canonical tour records.

Estimated Match Date

An asterisk after a date means the exact historical match day was unavailable and TennisDB estimated it from the tournament window and round. The result and tournament remain source-backed; only the day is estimated.

Rankings & Ratings

Elo

Elo is a rating based on results and opponent strength. Beating stronger opponents earns more points; losing to weaker opponents costs more. Walkovers do not change Elo.

Peak Elo

The highest Elo rating a player has reached in TennisDB's ratings.

Elo Rank

A player's rank by current TennisDB Elo rating, not official ranking points.

Elo Points

Current TennisDB Elo rating points.

Elo Percentile

Percentile rank by Elo rating. 99 means higher than 99% of comparable players.

Season Elo

For the current season, this is the latest TennisDB Elo rating. For past seasons, this is year-end Elo.

Season Rank

For the current season, this is the latest ranking. For past seasons, this is the year-end ranking.

Ranking Points

Official ranking points from the selected ranking snapshot.

Weekly Rank Movement

Ranking change since the previous ranking snapshot.

Year-to-Date Rank Change

Ranking change since the start of the season.

ATP Race Rank

Official position in the ATP Race to Turin for the current season.

ATP Race Points

Official ATP Race points earned during the current season.

ATP Race Weekly Movement

ATP Race position change since the previous Race snapshot.

60-Day Rank Change

Ranking change over the last 60 days.

60-Day Ranking-Points Change

Ranking-points change over the last 60 days.

Weeks at No. 1

Weeks spent at No. 1 in the official rankings.

Records & Form

Wins

Recorded main-draw singles wins in TennisDB's match data, including credited walkovers.

Losses

Recorded main-draw singles losses in TennisDB's match data, including credited walkovers.

Matches

Recorded main-draw singles results in TennisDB's match data, including credited walkovers.

W-L

Wins and losses in recorded main-draw singles results, including credited walkovers.

Career W-L

Career main-draw singles wins and losses in TennisDB's match data.

Recent W-L

Win-loss record over the last 20 matches.

Win %

Wins divided by total completed main-draw matches.

vs Expected / Momentum Index

Wins above or below Elo prediction over the last 20 matches. Positive means outperforming expectations.

Season vs Expected

Wins above or below Elo prediction over the player's last 20 matches. Positive means outperforming expectations.

Form Delta

Result points above or below pre-match Elo expectation over the last 10 matches, with the most recent five weighted more heavily. Ten points equal five win-percentage points above or below expectation.

Titles

Singles tournament titles in TennisDB's title data.

Finals Win %

Singles titles divided by singles finals reached.

Grand Slam Titles

Singles titles won at the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and US Open.

Olympic Titles

Olympic singles medals from official ITF draws beginning in 1988. Gold counts as one TennisDB title.

Grand Slam Finals Win %

Grand Slam singles titles divided by Grand Slam singles finals reached.

Grand Slam Champions by Year

Year-by-year singles champions at the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and US Open.

Masters 1000 / WTA 1000 Champions by Year

Year-by-year singles champions grouped under modern Masters 1000 or WTA 1000, including documented predecessor editions.

Masters 1000 / WTA 1000 Titles

Singles titles grouped under modern Masters 1000 or WTA 1000, including documented predecessor editions.

Masters 1000 / WTA 1000 Finals Win %

Titles divided by finals reached in the modern 1000 grouping, including documented predecessor editions.

Grand Slam Wins

Completed singles match wins at Grand Slam tournaments.

Grand Slam Win %

Win percentage in completed Grand Slam singles matches.

Masters 1000 / WTA 1000 Wins

Completed singles match wins in the modern 1000 grouping, including documented predecessor editions.

Masters 1000 / WTA 1000 Win %

Win percentage in completed singles matches in the modern 1000 grouping, including documented predecessor editions.

Prize Money

Career prize money when available from source data.

Leaderboard Views

Leader Single Season View

Ranks the best individual player-seasons for the selected statistic across the chosen era.

Leader Career View

Ranks career totals or career rates across the chosen era.

Leader Active View

Uses the same career measure but includes only players TennisDB currently classifies as active.

Leader Year By Year View

Shows the leading player or player-season separately for each season.

Leader Current Rank View

Lists currently ranked players in official ranking order and shows their full-history career statistic.

Advanced & Match-Format Metrics

Performance+

Scoreline performance adjusted for opponent strength on a 0-200 scale. 100 is average; a 10-point difference equals five expected-win percentage points.

Pressure+

Opponent-adjusted deciding-set and tiebreak performance on a 0-200 scale; 100 is the pre-match surface-Elo expectation. Small samples are shrunk, at least three of each are required, and a deciding-set tiebreak counts only once.

Serve+

Estimated percentage points won on serve above or below expectation after opponent and era adjustment. Historical values are best-effort where point denominators are unavailable.

Return+

Estimated percentage points won on return above or below expectation after opponent and era adjustment. Historical values are best-effort where point denominators are unavailable.

Point Dominance

Return points won divided by opponents' return points won. 1.000 is even; above 1.000 is better.

Total Points Won %

Percentage of all completed points won.

Surface Elo

Surface Elo relative to overall Elo after calibrating that tour, season, and surface pool onto the overall Elo scale. Positive means the player rates better on that surface; negative means lower.

Average Set Margin

Average per-set game margin from the player's perspective. Positive values mean winning sets by more games on average.

Set Margin

Average per-set game margin from the player's perspective. Positive values mean winning sets by more games on average.

Set Win %

Sets won divided by total completed sets in eligible scored matches.

Schedule Effect

Expected wins added by opponent quality versus a typical player-season schedule. Positive means an easier schedule; negative means a tougher one. Career values are per 100 matches.

Deciding Set Record

Wins-losses and win percentage in matches that reached a deciding set.

Tiebreak Record

Tiebreak wins-losses and win percentage from available set scores.

Strength of Schedule Percentile

Strength of Schedule percentile based on opponent quality. Higher means the player faced tougher opponents.

Deep Run %

Share of tournaments where the player reached the quarterfinals or better.

Deciding Set Win %

Win percentage in matches that reached a deciding set.

Tiebreaks Won

Tiebreaks won.

Tiebreaks Lost

Tiebreaks lost.

Tiebreak Win %

Tiebreaks won divided by total tiebreaks played.

Three Set Win %

Win percentage in completed best-of-three-set singles matches.

Five Set Win %

Win percentage in completed best-of-five-set singles matches.

Third Set Win %

Win percentage in completed best-of-three-set singles matches that reached a third set.

Fifth Set Win %

Win percentage in completed best-of-five-set singles matches that reached a fifth set.

Serve & Return Metrics

Sample

Matches with the required stat data available.

Aces

Serves that land in and are not touched by the returner.

Aces per Match

Aces per match with serve stats available.

Double Faults

Service points lost by missing both first and second serve.

Double Faults per Match

Double faults per match with serve stats available.

First Serve %

Percentage of service points where the first serve landed in.

First Serve Points Won %

Percentage of points won after making a first serve.

Second Serve Points Won %

Percentage of second-serve points won, including points lost through double faults.

Break Points Saved %

Percentage of break points won by the server.

Break Points Converted %

Percentage of break-point chances won by the returner.

Service Points Won %

Percentage of all points won while serving.

Return Points Won %

Percentage of all points won while returning.

Match Serve+

This match’s service points won percentage minus the tour’s season average, in percentage points. Zero is average; +5 means five points above average. Match-weighted available stats; no opponent adjustment.

Match Return+

This match’s return points won percentage minus the tour’s season average, in percentage points. Zero is average; +5 means five points above average. Match-weighted available stats; no opponent adjustment.

Surface & Opponent Splits

Hard Wins

Completed main-draw singles match wins on hard courts.

Hard Win %

Win percentage in recorded main-draw singles results on hard courts.

Clay Wins

Completed main-draw singles match wins on clay courts.

Clay Win %

Win percentage in recorded main-draw singles results on clay courts.

Grass Wins

Completed main-draw singles match wins on grass courts.

Grass Win %

Win percentage in recorded main-draw singles results on grass courts.

Wins vs Top 10

Wins against opponents ranked in the Top 10 at the time of the match.

Win % vs Top 10

Win percentage against opponents ranked in the Top 10 at the time of the match.

Wins vs Top 20

Wins against opponents ranked in the Top 20 at the time of the match.

Win % vs Top 20

Win percentage against opponents ranked in the Top 20 at the time of the match.

Wins vs Top 50

Wins against opponents ranked in the Top 50 at the time of the match.

Win % vs Top 50

Win percentage against opponents ranked in the Top 50 at the time of the match.

Wins vs Top 100

Wins against opponents ranked in the Top 100 at the time of the match.

Win % vs Top 100

Win percentage against opponents ranked in the Top 100 at the time of the match.

Streak & Age Records

Win Streak

Longest consecutive winning streak in main-draw singles results; credited walkovers count.

Grand Slam Win Streak

Longest consecutive winning streak in Grand Slam singles results; credited walkovers count.

Masters Win Streak

Longest consecutive winning streak in Masters 1000 or WTA 1000 singles results; credited walkovers count.

Hard Win Streak

Longest consecutive winning streak in main-draw singles results on hard courts; credited walkovers count.

Clay Win Streak

Longest consecutive winning streak in main-draw singles results on clay courts; credited walkovers count.

Grass Win Streak

Longest consecutive winning streak in main-draw singles results on grass courts; credited walkovers count.

Losing Streak

Longest consecutive losing streak in recorded singles results; credited walkovers count.

Youngest Title Winner

Youngest age when winning a singles title.

Youngest Grand Slam Title Winner

Youngest age when winning a Grand Slam singles title.

Oldest Title Winner

Oldest age when winning a singles title.

Oldest Grand Slam Title Winner

Oldest age when winning a Grand Slam singles title.

Hard Court

A rigid acrylic, concrete, or similar court. Pace and bounce vary by venue; the Australian Open and US Open are played on hard courts.

Clay Court

A granular surface, commonly crushed brick or shale, that usually produces a higher bounce and longer rallies. Roland Garros is played on clay.

Grass Court

A natural-grass surface that generally produces a lower, faster bounce. Wimbledon is played on grass.

Carpet

A removable synthetic surface used historically at indoor events. It no longer appears on the main tours but remains part of the historical record.

Category names, ranking-point schedules, and draw sizes change over time. TennisDB shows modern equivalents for cross-era comparison; that presentation does not imply the historical systems were identical.

Modern equivalents across eras

Mappings are made edition by edition from documented historical classifications. A display such as Tier I → WTA 1000 preserves the category used for that edition and then shows its modern equivalent. An asterisk on an aggregate column means the total can include predecessor categories. When the evidence does not support a mapping, TennisDB keeps the edition's recorded category instead of forcing a modern equivalent.

Some earlier source-closed WTA editions also map from their contemporary numbered category systems. Pre-1990 ATP editions are not treated as Masters 1000 equivalents because the audited evidence did not support a consistent tour-wide crosswalk.

Shared categories

Grand Slam

The Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and US Open. Modern singles draws contain 128 players, but historical formats varied.

Olympics

Official ITF Olympic singles draws from the full-medal era beginning in 1988. Gold counts as one TennisDB title; silver and bronze count as medals but not titles.

Qualifying

Preliminary rounds that award places in a tournament's main draw. TennisDB reports qualifying separately from main-draw records.

ATP categories

Masters 1000

The modern ATP category below Grand Slams. Modern champions receive 1,000 ranking points, subject to the rules in force for that season; documented predecessor editions may be grouped here for cross-era statistics.

ATP 500

An ATP event tier below Masters 1000. Modern champions receive 500 ranking points; draw sizes vary by tournament.

ATP 250

The most common ATP main-tour event tier. Modern champions receive 250 ranking points; draw sizes vary by tournament.

ATP Finals

The season-ending championship for the leading qualified singles players, using round-robin groups followed by semifinals and a final.

WTA categories

WTA 1000

The modern WTA category below Grand Slams. Modern point awards and draw sizes vary by tournament and season; documented Tier I and Premier Mandatory/Premier 5 predecessor editions may be grouped here for cross-era statistics. “Mandatory” is a participation designation within WTA 1000, not a separate title category, so WTA 1000 Mandatory editions are displayed simply as WTA 1000.

WTA 500

A WTA event tier below WTA 1000. Modern champions generally receive 500 ranking points; draw sizes vary by tournament.

WTA 250

The most common WTA main-tour event tier. Modern champions generally receive 250 ranking points; draw sizes vary by tournament.

WTA Finals

The season-ending championship for the leading qualified singles players, using round-robin groups followed by semifinals and a final.

F (Final)

The championship match. The winner claims the title.

SF (Semifinal)

The round before the final. Winners advance to the title match.

QF (Quarterfinal)

The round of the last eight players. Winners advance to the semifinals.

R16 (Round of 16)

The round of the last 16 players.

R32 (Round of 32)

The round of the last 32 players.

R64 (Round of 64)

The round of the last 64 players.

R128 (Round of 128)

The round of the last 128 players, used by modern Grand Slam singles draws.

RR (Round Robin)

A group stage where each player faces the other players in the group, used at the ATP Finals and WTA Finals.

Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 (Qualifying Rounds)

Numbered qualifying rounds. The number of rounds depends on the event and draw.

BR (Bronze Medal Match)

The Olympic third-place match.

Best of 3 Sets

The first player to win two sets wins the match. This is the standard WTA format and the standard ATP format outside men's Grand Slam singles.

Best of 5 Sets

The first player to win three sets wins the match. It is used in men's Grand Slam singles and appears in selected historical events.

Tiebreak

A special game usually played when a set reaches 6-6. Standard tiebreaks are first to seven points, win by two. Since 2022, all four Grand Slams use a first-to-10 tiebreak at 6-6 in the final set; historical final-set rules differed.

Walkover (W/O)

A player advances because the opponent withdraws before play begins. TennisDB counts the result in W-L records and streaks, but excludes it from Elo and played-only statistics.

Retirement (Ret.)

A player stops during the match because of injury or another reason. The opponent is credited with the win.

Serving Layer

The pre-computed database tables read by public pages. Reconciliation, aggregation, and rating calculations run during background refresh jobs instead of during page requests.

Source Priority

The rules that choose which upstream record publishes when sources overlap. ATP uses Sackmann before 2025 and BALLDONTLIE from 2025 onward. WTA matches can use BALLDONTLIE as historical gap-fill, while WTA rankings use Sackmann before 2025 and BALLDONTLIE from 2025 onward.

Deduplication

The refresh-time reconciliation of equivalent source records using score, tournament, round, date, and player-identity evidence.

Active Player

A TennisDB classification based on recent ranking or match signals, not an official retirement declaration.

Markdown Mirror

A compact text version of a supported canonical page. Mirrors begin with their HTML source URL and are designed for citation-friendly machine retrieval.

Updated Timestamp

The best available freshness signal for a page. Depending on the page family, it can come from a live score, ranking snapshot, match refresh, research revision, or serving publication.