ATP Cup FAQ

What is the ATP Cup?
The ATP Cup is an annual 24-country team competition featuring US$15 million prize money and a maximum of 750 singles and 250 doubles ATP Rankings points. ATP is staging the event in partnership with Tennis Australia.

When and where will it be played?
The ATP Cup will begin the ATP Tour each season, starting on the Friday before Week 1. The tournament will be a 10-day event finishing on the final Sunday of Week 1. The inaugural event in 2020 will be held from Friday 3 – Sunday 12 January. The ATP Cup will be played alongside an ATP 250 event in Doha that will occupy Week 1 of the calendar. The group stages competition will be hosted across three Australian cities – Sydney, Brisbane and Perth – over six days. Immediately following the group stages will be the four-day knockout stage – quarter-finals over 2 days, semi-finals and final – all to be played on the Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney.

How does the tournament work?
The 24 teams are divided into six groups of four for group stage, round-robin play. The six winners of each group and the two best second-placed finishers across the groups emerge to contest the eight-country knockout stage.

What is the format?
Each tie will comprise two singles and one doubles match. The country winning two matches wins the tie. Every country will be guaranteed to play three ties in the group stages. Singles will be best-of-three tie-break sets. Doubles will feature No-Ad scoring and a Match Tie-break in lieu of a third set.

What is the order of play?
There is a day session and an evening session each day per venue. The first singles matches will be played at 10.30am local time, starting with the No. 2 players in each tie, followed by the No. 1 players, with the doubles to follow. All doubles matches will be played regardless of whether the tie is decided after the two singles matches.

How does a country qualify for the ATP Cup and which of its players get to play?
A minimum of three ATP ranked players, including two members with singles ATP Ranking points, are required for a country to be eligible to qualify. A country may have up to five players. If a team has five players, at least three must have an ATP Singles ranking. If less than five players, a team must have at least two players with an ATP Singles ranking.

How will entries work?
At the first entry deadline (13 September), a country will gain acceptance into the event based on the singles ATP Ranking of the country’s No. 1 singles player. The qualifying country’s second-highest-ranked singles player will gain acceptance at the same time. If either of the two accepted singles players drop outside their country’s top two ranked singles players at the second entry deadline (13 November), either player may withdraw from the event. Remaining team members (up to an additional three players) will gain acceptance at the 13 November entry deadline, based on the current ATP Rankings.

Rankings to be used for entries are the 52-week ATP Rankings. A Protected Ranking can be used to enter provided the player’s Protected Ranking is valid through the start of the competition; but it will not be used for team seeding.

At the second entry deadline (13 November), the remaining six teams (Nos. 19-24) will qualify and all qualified players from all teams will be committed.

When will the teams be announced?
The top 18 teams will be announced after the 13 September deadline. The remaining six teams will be announced at the 13 November deadline.

Will there be a Wild Card team?
A Wild Card will only be awarded to the host team (Australia) if it does not qualify by ATP Rankings at the first entry deadline inside the Top 18 teams. If the host team receives a wild card, it will be announced together, in addition to the top 18 teams after the first entry deadline and five (rather than six) additional teams will qualify at the second entry deadline.

What are the ATP Cup Standings?
The ATP Cup Standings is a provisional entry list for the ATP Cup, ordered by the ATP Ranking (or Protected Ranking) of a country’s highest-ranked singles player. ATP Cup Standings also show which players within each country would qualify for a place in their country’s team, subject to player entry rules.

What if a country’s top-ranked singles player does not commit to play the event at the time of the first entry deadline?
The country’s eligibility to qualify at the first entry deadline is determined by the singles ATP Ranking of its next-highest ranked entered singles player.

When will the seedings and draw be made?
The locations, seeds and groupings for the top 18 teams will be announced soon after the first entry deadline. At this stage, each of the six groups will have three teams. The remaining teams will be drawn and announced soon after the second entry deadline using the 11 November ATP Rankings, with each additional team drawn at random to a group.

Will a Team Captain be assigned?
Each team will have a captain, selected by the No. 1 singles player in consultation with their team members. The No. 1 singles player will be the captain should one not be selected. The captain must be of the same nationality and meet one of the following criteria: be a Division I ATP player member, an ATP coach member or a qualified coach of a national federation. If a captain is requested that does not fulfill either criteria requirement, a request for an exemption can be made.

Is on-court coaching allowed?
Yes. Coaching will be permitted by the team captain, the competing player’s individual coach or fellow player team members. The player may only receive coaching during changeovers and set breaks.

Can a player play singles and doubles?
Yes. The team captain decides who plays doubles. The on-site ATP Ranking order must be respected for singles matches. For example, the No. 1 ranked player on a team based on on-site ATP Rankings at the start of the competition cannot play No. 2 singles. Protected Ranking will be considered the official ranking for line-up position.

POINTS & RANKING

What is the maximum number of points a player can earn?
Singles: An undefeated player who plays and wins all possible singles matches could earn 750 ATP Rankings points. Doubles: An undefeated player who plays and wins all possible doubles matches will earn 250 ATP Rankings points.

Who can earn points at this event?
All players will have the opportunity to earn ATP Rankings points and prize money.

How will be the points for each player be awarded in a team competition?
Singles: ATP Rankings points are awarded for a match win in each round and the amount of rankings points depends on the ranking of the opponent and the round of the result. Doubles: ATP Doubles Rankings points are awarded for a match win in each round and do not depend on the ranking of the opponents or the round of the result.

How will the ATP Cup points work in a player’s ranking?
ATP Cup will count as an additional event in a player’s ranking breakdown.

How much is the prize money?
The total player prize money is US$15 million. There are three different components of total prize money awarded to players. This includes a participation fee, prize money for individual match wins and prize money for tie victories.

Prize Money (All figures in U.S. Dollars)
Total Prize Money: $15,000,000

Per Participation:

NO. 1 PLAYER

*Entry order (team) as of 13 September 2019
** Entry order (team) as of 13 November 2019
^ Top 20 player will receive $150,000

NO. 2 PLAYER

Ranking as of date of entry of team

NOS. 3-5 PLAYER

Ranking as of November 11, 2019

Per Individual Wins:

Per Team Wins:

All 3-5 players on the team (whether the player plays a match or not) earn the same amount for a team win.

ATP Ranking Points

Singles

Maximum 750 points for undefeated player

Singles Player Ranked 301+

Doubles

Maximum 250 points for undefeated doubles player.

*All the above information is subject to change by the ATP rules and regulations.