Tennis is an Olympic sport, played worldwide by considerable people of different age groups. It is played either in singles or doubles. There are various terms related to tennis which one needs to understand by a person who wants to play it professionally. Two famous terms relating to tennis include – Grand Slam and Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Let us comprehend them in detail.
Grand Slam vs ATP
The main difference between Grand Slam and ATP is that Grand Slam is an achievement in tennis. It signifies winning all four major championships of tennis. On the other hand, ATP is a governing body or a government institution of men’s professional tennis circuits. It protects the interest of professional tennis players.
Grand Slam is a triumph of all four major championships in the same calendar year. It is also known as Calendar Year Grand Slam or Calendar Slam. The four most crucial annual professional tennis events come with fortunes of perks. They are worldwide known as the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the United States Open.
Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP is a governing body of men’s professional tennis circuits. It works to protect the interest of professional tennis players. The tennis circuit includes – the ATP Tour, the ATP Challenger Tour and the ATP Champions Tour. The formation of the body was in 1972. The global headquarter of ATP is in London.
Comparison Table Between Grand Slam and ATP
What is Grand Slam?
Grand Slam is tennis attainment of winning all four major championships in the same calendar year. A team can win this title together, or a player can win it alone with other partners. It is also known as Calendar Year Grand Slam or Calendar Slam.
Winning all four major championships consecutively but not in the same calendar year is called Non-Calendar Year Grand Slam. Winning all these showdowns anytime during the career is known as Career Grand Slam.
The four most important annual professional tennis tournaments are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. These matches offer high perks, including fame, money and ranking points.
The Australian Open takes place in January. The French Open happens in late May to early June, Wimbledon runs from late June to early July, and the US Open takes place in August or September. The duration of these tournaments is for around two weeks. Wimbledon, founded in 1877, is the oldest tournament. Then came the US Open in 1881, followed by the French Open in 1891. Lastly came the Australian Open in 1905. They became official in 1925. Players play The Australian Open and the US Open tournaments on hard courts, the French Open on clay, and Wimbledon on grass.
Some other titles of Grand Slam are as follows-
- Career Boxed Set – winning one out of every possible major title in the singles, doubles, and mixed doubles disciplines throughout a player’s career.
- Career Golden Slam – winning all four Grand Slam tournaments and the Olympic or Paralympic gold medal during one’s career.
- Three-Quarter-Slam – winning three of the four Grand Slam tournaments in the same year but missing out on the Grand Slam title by only one.
- Surface-Slam – winning a Grand Slam title on each of those three surfaces, hard court, clay and grass, in a calendar year.
- Professional Grand Slam – winning all three, the US Open pro, the French Open pro and Wimbledon pro, in a calendar year.
- Career Super Slam – winning all four Grand Slam tournaments, the Olympic gold medal and the year-end championship throughout one’s career.
- Channel-Slam – winning the French Open and Wimbledon consecutively in the same season.
What is ATP?
Association of Tennis Professionals is an administrative body of men’s professional tennis circuits; ATP Tour, ATP Challenger Tour and ATP Championship Tour. The main reason for forming this body is to protect the interest of professional tennis players. It came into existence in 1972. The global headquarter of this body is in London. The headquarter for America is in Florida, for Europe is in Monaco, and for Africa, Asia, and Australia is in Sydney.
The ATP Tour is the top tier tennis for men, organised by ATP. It comprises ATP Masters 1000, ATP 500, and ATP 250.
The ATP Masters 1000 tournament is an annual series of nine tennis matches. Top-ranked players play it.
The ATP 500 tournament is the fourth highest tier of the annual men’s tennis tournament after the four Glam Slam, ATP Finals, and ATP Tour Masters 1000.
The ATP 250 tournament is the lowest level of annual men’s tennis tournaments after the four Grand Slam tournaments, ATP Finals, ATP Tour Masters 1000, and ATP 500.
The ATP Challenger Tour is a series of international men’s professional tennis matches. It is the second-highest level of tennis competition, after the ATP Tour.
The ATP Champions Tour is a men’s tennis tour for former tennis professionals. They are retired from professional tennis.
Main Differences Between Grand Slam and ATP
- Grand Slam is a success of all four dominant championships, whereas ATP is the administrative body of men’s professional tennis circuits.
- Grand Slam officially came into existence in 1925. On the other hand, ATP’s birth was in 1972.
- Grand Slam is a part of TP. On the flip side, ATP is an independent organisation.
- The main tournaments of the Grand Slam are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. The main matches of ATP are Indian Wells, Miami Open, Madrid Open, Italian Open, Canadian Open, Cincinnati Masters, Shanghai Masters, Paris Masters and Monte-Carlo Masters.
- Rankings for Grand Slam are as follows- Winners – 2000 points, Runners-ups – 1200 points, Semi-finalists – 720 points, Quarter-finalists – 360 points. On the other hand, the rankings for ATP are as follows- Winners – 1000 points, Runners-ups – 600 points, Semi-finalists – 360 points, Quarter-finalists – 180 points.
Conclusion
Tennis lovers are spread globally around the world. Some of them know the terms relating to tennis, others don’t. The summary of the two typical terms, in brief, is mentioned below.
Grand Slam is a prize for winning all four tournaments. These include Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. Talking about ATP, it is the main body of men’s professional tennis circuits. It helps to protect the interest of tennis professionals. Grand Slam is an element of ATP.
Some components of the Grand Slam are Non-Calendar Year Grand Slam, Career Grand Slam, Career Boxed Set, Career Golden Slam, Three-Quarter-Slam, Surface-Slam, Professional Grand Slam, Career Super Slam and Channel-Slam. The constituents of ATP are ATP Tour, ATP Challenger Tour and ATP Championship Tour.
References
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=z9t-AgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA212&dq=grand+slam+and+association+of+tennis+professionals&ots=jfbTIGOhNV&sig=oB6uMnmpSJcOhSuEKkZVyotmxyg
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/24748668.2008.11868449