WTA adds events to calendar, announces new rankings system

The WTA Tour, suspended since March due to the Covid-19 pandemic, last month announced it would resume in Palermo on Aug. 3 and the tournaments in Prague and Lexington are scheduled to begin a week later.

"As the WTA Tour looks to return to competition in 2020, we are pleased to provide additional playing opportunities for our athletes," WTA Chairman Steve Simon said.

The Cincinnati Masters is scheduled to be played at Flushing Meadows, New York followed by the U.S Open, also at its usual Flushing Meadows home, from August 31-September 13.

There will then be claycourt tournaments in Madrid and Rome before events in Europe and the Asia Pacific region, including the China Open in Beijing and the season-ending WTA Finals in Shenzhen set for November 9-15.

Organisers of the Citi Open in Washington confirmed that they will not stage a women's tournament this year with the Lexington event to take its place on the calendar.

"Given the unique circumstances and requirements this year, we understand and support Octagon and the WTA's decision to hold the tournament as a completely separate event in 2020," Citi Open organisers said in a statement.

"We wish them and local organizers in Lexington all the best for a safe and successful tournament. We still plan to present women's tennis during this year's Citi Open and look forward to hosting the women's tournament in Washington, D.C. next year."

The WTA also announced a revised system for calculating world rankings when the season resumes.

The rankings traditionally operate on a "Best 16" results basis over 52 weeks but will now cover a 22-month period from March 2019 through December 2020.

A player's ranking will be comprised of her "Best 16" results over the 22-month period and the same tournament cannot be included twice in her breakdown.