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How are the rankings calculated?
What does the rating mean?
How can I improve my ranking?
How can some players be highly ranked when they have lost most of their games?
Why are more matches listed for some players than their "Matches Played" on the Ranking page?
How are the rankings calculated?
In an ideal ranking system player A is ranked ahead of player B if player A would win a match between them. So if they've already played each other and A won then that information is the best guide we have to a future match between them. Hence in our system A will provisionally be ranked ahead of B.
What if they haven't played? In this case we need to search for a link between A and B. Lets say they both beat C. That puts C at the bottom in our ranking of 3 players but who should be top? We could have used game scores (e.g. 3-1) to determine who won most easily but for greater accuracy we use the point scores (e.g. 9-7, 6-9, 9-3, 9-4). Whoever won most easily takes the top ranking.
There are times when A and B won't have played a common opponent. We then have to search a bit further to find a link between them. The computer does all the hard work - searching for these links and using all the available information on each player to decide his or her final ranking.
What does the rating mean?
The player at the top of the rankings is allocated a rating of 1000 and the player at the bottom is given a rating of zero. The gaps between ratings reflect the difference in ability between players.
As a very rough guide if the difference in rating between 2 players was about 100 points then the higher ranked player would probably win 3-0 (but the games might be close). A gap of 200 points in the rating would normally result in a convincing 3-0 win to the higher ranked player.
How can I improve my ranking?
Obviously by beating players ranked ahead of you!
However, the ranking system is more sophisticated than a "ladder" and so better results against players you have played before (even if you lose) will improve your ranking.
Also by doing better than your ranking predicts - maybe against someone you haven't played - is also going to improve your ranking. So if you get a game off someone with a rating 100 points higher it will probably result in an improvement.
How can some players be highly ranked when they have lost most of their games?
They will most likely have lost to players even higher up the rankings - and the matches will have been quite close. The number of points you win against players ranked above you determines how close your ranking is to theirs.
Why are more matches listed for some players than their "Matches Played" on the Ranking page?
The ranking page shows how many matches have contributed to the ranking. They will normally be those within a year of the "Latest ranking date".
However, all matches that have been recorded are available if you select a player. So, for example, you will be able to see how you did against an opponent in previous seasons.
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