The ATP defined the ATP Race as "an easy-to-understand, simple-to-follow annual race from season start to season end. Every player starts at zero at the beginning of the year and the player who accumulates the most points by season's end is the World Number 1" and claims that the Race "is the mathematical method of ranking male professional tennis players on a calendar-year basis."
According to the ATP: "Every player, regardless of his performances in the previous year, starts with zero points. Players count 18 performances in their INDESIT ATP 2005 Race total. Players eligible to enter the Grand Slams and Tennis Masters Series events must count those events and their best five other results from the International Series events. The Tennis Masters Cup will count as an additional 19th tournament for the eight players who qualify."
During the 2009 ATP rebranding, the ATP Race ranking system was discarded in favour of solely having the calendar year ranking system.
Points Distribution
(*) 1 point only if the Main Draw is larger than 32 (International Series) or 64 (Masters 1000).