What I find interesting is the fact that ALL 1st round losers will get zero points rather than 5 - e.g. If Alex is DA in Week 1 he will need to win a match to increase his points.

Round Robin Tournaments in 2007

As the deadline for the first week of events in 2007 is fast approaching, I would like to update you on the points, prize money and format of the Round Robin events that are going to be played in 2007.

First, let's talk about the points. Below you will find the table of points for all the events. There are a few important things that one needs to know with regards to the ranking points:

1.From quarterfinals on, everyone will earn the same amount of points, regardless of how they won their respective group. For example, the quarterfinals of Adelaide are worth 40 points for all players who lose in that round.

3. The second clarifying point is that points from the knockout stage and round robin wins are just for those who do not move into the quarterfinal stage of the event. For example, a player who wins in the knockout round, wins a round robin match and does not qualify for the quarterfinal stage will get 30 points for his participation in Adelaide. Had the same player played only in the round robin stage, won a match and did not qualify for the quarterfinals stage, he would earn 20 points in Adelaide.

2.The last important aspect with regards to points is that players who lose in the knockout stage or player s who do not win round robin matches will not earn any points. That is in line with the new ATP ranking procedure of not giving points to first round losers at all the other events. Only wins will give players points.



Next topic is prize money. Below you will find the prize money breakdown for the tournaments that we currently have as round robin events but the list is subject to change. Here are a few pointers with regards to the prize money.

1. The most important thing that I want to point out is that an undefeated winner of a round robin tournament will get the same amount of prize money as he would in a straight elimination tournamen t with the same level of prize money.

2. If a player loses in the knockout round, he will be awarded the prize money listed below as knockout participation. Also, if a player fails to win a match in the round robin stage, he is guaranteed the amount of prize money listed as the RR participation category. Furthermore, round robin wins are worth between 2,000 and 2,500 (Dollars or Euros). The money won in the Round Robin stage will carry over. So, the winner's money does not include the earnings of a player in the round robin stage. For example, an undefeated tournament winner in Bastad will win 51,820 euros plus 4,000 euros from his round robin wins.



The last thing I would like to clarify is with regards to the format itself. The formats are:

24 Round Robin Tournament – 8 groups of 3 players. Players will play against each other within the group. The 8 winners of the groups reach the quarterfinal stage and the tournament is played under the single elimination format from this point forward. Qualifying draw will consist of 12 players. Tournament winners will play 5 matches (except for qualifiers).

32 Hybrid Round System – 16 players participate in knockout round while the top 16 players wait in 8 groups (2 per group). The 8 winners of the knockout stage will be place d in th ose 8 groups, forming the 8 groups of 3 players. From this point forward, the tournament is played exactly like the 24 round robin event. Qualifying draw will consist of 16 players. Tournament winners that come from the round robin stage will play 5 matches and those players who come from the knockout stage will play 6 matches (except for qualifiers)

48 Round Robin Tournament - 16 groups of 3 players. Players will play against each other within the group. The 16 winners of the groups reach the Round of 16 stage and the tournament is played under the single elimination format from this point forward. Qualifying draw will consist of 24 players. Tournament winners will play 6 matches.