ITF and WTA Announce Olympic Ranking Point Agreement

Written by: Staff on 16th February 2011

ITF and WTA Announce Olympic Ranking Point Agreement |

The ITF and the WTA announced today the successful completion of negotiations to award ranking points for women at the 2012 Olympic Tennis Event in London at Wimbledon. This will be the third successive Olympics where women have received ranking points.

ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said: “This important agreement ensures that more of the top women players will be eligible to compete in London, which is good news for the event and the players. We anticipate another outstanding women’s Olympic tennis event.”

The agreement will strengthen the women’s field, with nations now eligible for up to four entries into the singles and two entries into the doubles, with the maximum number of women players per country on-site raised from four to six.

WTA Chairman & CEO Stacey Allaster stated: “WTA players cherish the opportunity to compete for their country in the Olympic Games, and with the hallowed grounds of Wimbledon as the venue for the 2012 Olympic Tennis Event, it promises to be a very special Games. “

The ITF, WTA and the International Olympic Committee have agreed to the following entry criteria for women for the 2012 Olympic Tennis Event.

WTA rankings will be used as the basis for determining the 56 direct acceptances in the 64-player singles draw for women, subject to a maximum of four players per country as well as existing eligibility requirements.

Six of the remaining eight singles places will be selected by the ITF’s Olympic Committee taking into consideration a player’s singles computer ranking and a geographic distribution of nations entered, as well as two Tripartite Commission Invitations decided by the IOC, National Olympic Committees and the ITF.

WTA rankings will also be used to determine the 24 direct entries in the 32-pair doubles draw, subject to a maximum of two pairs per country and a maximum of six women players per country in total. Doubles players ranked in the Top 10 can receive direct acceptance into the event providing they have an eligible partner.