I agree with Alexander Zverev, the current ATP system is "not a true ranking": Martina Navratilova
Alexander Zverev recently criticized the revised ATP ranking system, calling it a ‘disaster'. According to Zverev, the current rules aren't justly rewarding players for their performances over the last year.
Now, Martina Navratilova has thrown her weight behind Alexander Zverev, calling the ranking system 'stagnant'. Like Zverev, Navratilova also believes that the results of active players are not being suitably reflected in the rankings.
The ATP decided to freeze the rankings in March 2020 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. When the tour resumed in August, players were allowed to retain their ranking points from tournaments held in 2019 - irrespective of how they performed in 2020.
The objective of the change was to safeguard the ranking points earned by players who wanted to avoid traveling and participating in events amid the pandemic. But that has meant that the players who have been participating - and winning - are not seeing much improvement in their ranking.
In the new system, Alexander Zverev has not seen any change in his ranking (remaining at No. 7) despite winning two titles (Cologne 1 and Cologne 2) and finishing as the runner-up in two big events (US Open and Paris Masters). The German highlighted that in his comments earlier this week, particularly drawing a comparison with Roger Federer - who has played only one tournament in the last 12 months and still occupies the No. 6 position.
While speaking in a conference call for Tennis Channel, Martina Navratilova opined that it now feels like a two-year rolling system instead of the traditional 52-week one, because of which the rankings of a number of players are distorted.
"I agree with Sascha. It's too stagnant, perhaps not a true ranking," Navratilova said. "In my head I'm thinking, 'This player is ranked so-and-so'. I look at the rankings, and they're not. It's almost a two-year rolling thing."
Martina Navratilova suggested that the ATP should also try and compile rankings for points earned since the resumption of the tour. According to the American, if the current rankings are compared with the points earned from August 2020, a 'happy medium' could be arrived at which would be a fairer way to reward the players.
"I agree, maybe they need to take another look at it and compare the two rankings," Navratilova said. "If you take the tournaments that people have played since August, see what that would come out to, compared to what it is now, try to find a happy medium somewhere there or cut it out and just make it whatever everybody has played."
Where would Alexander Zverev rank without the ATP’s revamped system?
As mentioned above, Alexander Zverev currently occupies the 7th spot in the ATP rankings. The German is one place behind Roger Federer, who is inarguably the biggest beneficiary of this system.
Federer has played just two matches in the last 13 months owing to his injury but remains comfortably placed in the 6th spot. Without the revision in the system, Federer would have found himself out of the top 300.
Alexander Zverev, meanwhile, would have risen one spot in the ranking charts, from 7th to 6th, with a total of 3,115 points amassed. Zverev had claimed in his recent presser that he would have been in the top 4 or 5 with the old system, but that is not actually the case.