How Many Rounds In a Tennis Tournament? 

If you know anything about tennis, you are probably aware that it is a sport of games, sets, and tiebreaks. Unless you actively follow the sport or play it yourself, you might be curious about the number of rounds in a tournament.

How many matches must a tennis player win to take home a trophy? 

Tournament Men’s Tour Women’s Tour
Grand Slams  7 7
Tour Finals 5 (3 round-robin matches + 2 knockout stages) 5 (3 round-robin matches + 2 knockout stages)
1000 Events  5-7  5-7
500 Events  5-6  4-6
250 Events  4-6  4-6

Qualifying tournaments of Grand Slams have 3 rounds, while players usually must win 2 matches to qualify for 1000, 500, and 250 events. There are other tournaments on the ATP challenger tour and the ITF circuit to consider too. 

The numbers in the table above apply to the singles draws in each event, which is what this guide mainly focuses on. 

Why Is This Important? 

Tennis players who actually want to clinch a title need to do more than win a match or two. Therefore, it is in their best interests to devise a longer-term strategy. As well as enduring the exertion of individual matches, they must prepare for the physical challenge of playing multiple times over several days. 

As you already know, different tournament levels have different numbers of rounds. The men’s tour can also have a best-of-3 or best-of-5 match format.

Knowing the number of rounds in a tournament allows players to make necessary preparations for the task ahead. More matches mean a more intense effort, so players must prepare their bodies accordingly. 

Even if you play in a local league or club competition, you should understand how many matches are needed to win an event. If not, you may not be in good enough shape and could run out of gas during the tournament.

Men’s Singles

Grand Slams 

  • 7 rounds 

The Grand Slam tournaments have main draws that feature 128 players. Hence, there are 7 rounds in total including the final.

Players who hope to qualify must win 3 preliminary matches to earn their spot in the main draw. 

ATP Finals 

  • 5 rounds 

In the world tour finals event, 8 players are sorted into 2 groups of 4. Each player has 3 round-robin matches.

If a player qualifies from his group, he must play a semi-final and perhaps a final. This means that a player must complete 5 rounds in total before claiming the trophy. 

ATP 1000 

  • 5-7 rounds 

On the ATP Tour, the 9 masters 1000 events have varying draw sizes. For instance, Indian Wells has 96 players in the singles draw, whereas Madrid only has 56. Therefore, unseeded players must win 6 or 7 rounds to secure one of these prestigious tournaments. 

Players who are seeded highly enough have the privilege of skipping the first round at these events. Thus, they can expect to play 5 or 6 matches for the title. 

ATP 500 

  • 5-6 rounds 

The 13 500-level events currently on the ATP Tour have draws consisting of 32-48 players. The seeded players always play 5 rounds, whereas unseeded competitors can sometimes expect to play 6. 

ATP 250 

  • 4-6 rounds 

These 39 tournaments offer the fewest points on the main tour. All except 2 of the ATP 250s have draws of 28 players. In those 37 events, the top 4 seeds must win 4 rounds to claim the title; everyone else must win 5. 

The 2 exceptions are the Delray Beach International and the Winston-Salem Open, whose draws comprise 32 and 48 players respectively. In the former, every participant has 5 potential rounds in front of them. In the latter, unseeded players potentially have 6 rounds between themselves and the title.

ATP Challenger Tour 

  • 5-6 rounds 

Most of the challenger events have 5 rounds in their main draws. Sometimes players will need to play an additional round for the chance to win a challenger title. 

Women’s Singles

Grand Slams 

  • 7 rounds 

Much like on the men’s tour, the winner of a women’s Grand Slam has to survive 7 consecutive rounds. To qualify, a player must win 3 additional rounds beforehand. Physically, female players benefit from playing best-of-3 set matches in Grand Slams. 

WTA Finals 

  • 5 rounds 

This follows the same format as the ATP Tour finals. In the round-robin stage, every player has 3 matches. Should a player progress from her group, she will then have to win two knockout rounds to be victorious. 

WTA 1000 

  • 5-7 rounds 

The size of these draws ranges from 56 to 96. In tournaments with 56 players (such as the Italian and Canadian Opens), the top 8 seeds receive an automatic bye into the second round and need only 5 match victories.

In 96-player draws, the top 32 seeds skip the first round and must win 6 rounds to claim the title. The 64 other players need to win 7. 

WTA 500 

  • 4-6 rounds 

There are 16 500-level events on the women’s professional circuit. Each accepts between 28 and 56 players into the main draw. Once again, the number of rounds depends on seedings.

The highest-seeded athletes can win as few as 4 matches before claiming a WTA 500 trophy. In the 56-player draws, lower-ranked players face up to 6 matches. 

WTA 250 

  • 4-6 rounds

As on the ATP Tour, the WTA 250 events offer fewer points and less prize money than other competitions, though are more common. The smallest draws feature 28 players, where the top seeds will have a maximum of 4 matches. 

The largest draws have 48 players. It is interesting that competitors may need the same number of match wins for a WTA 250 and a WTA 500 title. 

Rounds In Doubles & Junior Tournaments

Doubles 

In the Grand Slams, the men’s and women’s doubles competitions have 6 rounds. Mixed doubles competitions have 4 rounds at Roland Garros, 5 rounds at the Australian and US Open, and 6 rounds at Wimbledon. 

The doubles format at the ATP and WTA Finals is exactly the same as the singles; 3 round-robin matches followed by a semi-final and a final. 

For other ATP and WTA events, the number of rounds in a doubles tournament varies. However, it is always less than the number of singles rounds in the same tournament. 

Juniors 

At Grand Slams, the boys’ and girls’ singles competitions have 6 rounds as opposed to 7 in the senior draws.

Qualifying for these singles draws consists of 2 rounds as opposed to 3. The boys’ and girls’ doubles events have 5 rounds instead of 6 like in the senior events. 

In Conclusion

On the professional circuits, the number of rounds in a tennis tournament depends on the event’s prestige plus a player’s seeding. You must also remember that doubles and junior events have different numbers of rounds. 

This is good information to know if you aspire to become a professional. Even if you’re not yet at that level, you should know the number of rounds in any tournament you plan to enter. That will increase your chances of success because your mind and body will be better prepared for what lies ahead.

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