Explained: Different kinds of tennis ATP tournaments

There are plenty of tournaments in men’s tennis that comprise the ATP Tour.

ATP Tour is a collection of several high-profile tennis tournaments organised for men across the globe by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). There are several tiers of the ATP tournaments ranging from the ATP 1000 to the ATP 250 tournaments with varying prize money and ranking points.

It is worth noting that Grand Slams, the Davis Cup and the ITF World Tennis Tour (Men's Circuit) fall under the purview of the International Tennis Federation (ITF), not the ATP. As for the men’s tournament at the Olympics, it falls under the purview of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

In total, there are 64 tennis ATP tournaments in 31 countries that comprise the ATP Tour as a whole. It comprises ATP Finals, ATP Masters 1000, ATP 500, and ATP 250. The ATP also oversees the Challenger Tour, a level below the ATP Tour.

Here is a look at the tournaments that fall under the purview of ATP and the ITF/IOC in men’s tennis:

ITF/IOC tournaments

Grand Slams

There are four Grand Slam tournaments, the biggest stage in tennis apart from the Olympics. Every player dreams of winning a Grand Slam tournament and these offer the highest prize money as well for the winner. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, the Wimbledon and the US Open. Winning them earns the winner 2,000 ranking points towards their ATP rank, the highest for a single tournament.

Olympics

Overseen by the IOC, the Olympics tournament sees the top three players win the gold, silver and bronze medals respectively. There are no ranking points or prize money on offer. 

Davis Cup

Contested by the men’s national teams, the Davis Cup is extremely popular and overseen by the ITF. It is often termed the “World Cup” of tennis. The international team event is extremely hard to win as over 155 nations participate in it across various categories. 

ATP Tournaments

ATP Finals

The year-ending ATP Finals tournament is very prestigious. Players that collect the most ranking points in the calendar year get to enter the tournament which holds 1,100–1,500 ranking points and $7 million average prize money.

ATP Masters 1000

The biggest tournaments below the Grand Slams and the ATP Finals in terms of ranking points and prize money on offer. There are nine ATP Masters 1000 tournaments that hold 1000 ranking points for the winning men’s tennis athlete. They are:

• Canadian Open 
• Italian Open
• Indian Wells Masters 
• Miami Open
• Monte-Carlo Masters
• Madrid Open
• Cincinnati Masters 
• Shanghai Masters
• Paris Masters

ATP 500

APT 500 category tournaments carry 500 ranking points and are a level below the ATP Masters 1000 category of tournaments. There are a total of 13 of these on the ATP Tour for the year 2023. 

ATP 250

The next tier in the ATP Tour is the ATP 250 category of tournaments. They are bottom of the ATP Tour pyramid of competitions, offering 250 ranking points for the winner. In total, there are 39 250 ATP tournaments for the 2023 calendar year. 

ATP Challenger Tournaments and ITF Men’s Circuit

Below the ATP Tour, there are ATP Challenger Tournaments and the ITF Men’s Circuit. There are 178 tournaments in the ATP Challenger Tournaments classification while the entry-level ITF Men’s Circuit has 534 tournaments.