Frequently Asked Questions
How does this work?
There is a lot of math involved but it boils down to players having skill numbers. These skill numbers are matched up for each match and with some variations (i.e. it’s not just random) the winner is determined.
You can move through a season match-by-match, round-by-round, or by event at whatever speed you’d like.
Rankings are computed live, and at the end of each week.
You can add your own custom players one-at-a-time, or import a list of custom players to start off your own tour.
Where do I watch the match?
There’s nothing to see here! Aside from the scoreboard, there’s nothing to watch during a match. This is purely a text-based simulation.
What differences are there between this and real life?
It’s a simplified version of the real professional tennis tours with a few exceptions. This version has the following differences:
- The events have qualifying draws which are much larger.
- The qualifying drawers can be considered similar to “Challenger” or “ITF” events in real life and players get ranking points along those lines, not just qualifying ranking points.
- Each event is considered one week. For example, whereas the pro seasons have multiple events each week, this app goes through the events one-by-one.
- The rankings are also a little easier to follow in that the player’s 16 best events count and that’s it.
How do I import custom players?
Check out all the info here on the Custom Files page.
Do players retire?
No. I thought long and hard about this and realized that if new, randomly generated players came into the mix after a time, then suddenly you’re not following players you might actually be interested in.
How do player skills change over time?
Skills change with just about every match. Here are the times a player’s skill might change:
- If they win against a higher-ranked player or lose against a lower-ranked player.
- If they win several matches in a row.
- If they win a title.
- Between the end of the season and the beginning of the next season.
Skills go up when a player does something positive, and down when they do something negative. The changes during the offseason vary. Some players improve more than others, and other players lose skill.
Lastly, the skills are normalized after each season so that the skill range stays between 40 and 100.
What are wildcards and how do they work?
Wildcards are tools that tournaments use to give entry to players who might not otherwise be ranked high enough to enter the event.
For regular events, several wildcards are given out randomly to lower-ranked players.
New custom players are given 10 wildcards so they are entered into their first 10 events automatically. This helps get their ranking up closer to their potential.