The International Blind Tennis Association (IBTA) continues to grow and strengthen the development of tennis for blind or partially sighted athletes worldwide.
We are pleased to announce important updates regarding our official events and the new ranking points system, designed to provide more opportunities for competition and recognition for our players.
During the IBTA Extraordinary General Assembly on 12 March 2026, member nations have approved a new ranking points structure.
Our official tournaments bring together players from different countries, promoting not only high-level performance but also inclusion, cultural exchange, and the growth of our international community.
Events such as the upcoming World Championships in Vilnius, Lithuania frim 23-29 August will be key in continuing to position Blind Tennis on the global stage. We also invite players, coaches, and organizations to participate in other events and be part these unique experiences worlwide.
IBTA has updated its ranking system and launched a new ranking points structure effective 12 March 2026. The aim is to recognize all our athletes’ performance in all official tournaments, establish clearer international ranking criteria and encourage participation in IBTA-sanctioned events. Players will be able to earn points based on their combined results, which will determine their position in the official world rankings.
Effective this season, the tournament levels are comprised of five tiers, with the following point allocation:
- Tier 1: IBTA World Championships and the IBSA World Games, with minimum of eight countries from at least four different continents and more than 60 players, are allocated 2000 points.
- Tier 2: International tournaments, with minimum of five countries from at least three different continents and more than 40 players, are allocated 1000 points.
- Tier 3: Continental tournaments, with minimum of three countries from the same continent and more than 20 players, are allocated 500 points.
- Tier 4*: Inside country national tournaments are allocated 200 points.
- Tier 5*: Inside country regional tournaments are allocated 100 points.
| 2026–2027 IBTA Tournament Tiers | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Worlds* Tier 1 | International Continental | Inside Country 'Open' ** | |||
| Tier 2 | Tier 3 | National Tier 4 | Regional Tier 5 | |||
| Main Draw | Winner | 2000 | 1000 | 500 | 200 | 100 |
| Runner-Up | 1600 | 800 | 400 | 160 | 80 | |
| SF | 1200 | 550 | 300 | 120 | 55 | |
| QF | 600 | 300 | 200 | 80 | 30 | |
| Last 16 | 400 | 200 | 100 | 40 | 20 | |
| Last 32 | 200 | 100 | 50 | 20 | ||
| Last 64 | 120 | 60 | 25 | |||
| Last 128 | 80 | 40 | 12 | |||
| Plate | Winner | 200 | 100 | 50 | 20 | 10 |
| Runner-up | 160 | 80 | 40 | 16 | 8 | |
| SF | 120 | 55 | 30 | 12 | 6 | |
| QF | 60 | 30 | 20 | 8 | 4 | |
| Last 16 | 40 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 2 |
* IBTA World Championships and IBSA World Games
** Open to national and international classified players
| 2026–2027 IBTA Round Robin Draws | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Worlds* | International | Continental | Inside Country 'Open' ** | ||
| Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | National Tier 4 | Regional Tier 5 | ||
| Position | 1 | 2000 | 1000 | 500 | 200 | 100 |
| 2 | 1600 | 800 | 400 | 160 | 80 | |
| 3 | 1400 | 650 | 350 | 140 | 65 | |
| 4 | 1200 | 550 | 300 | 120 | 55 | |
| 5 | 900 | 450 | 275 | 110 | 45 | |
| 6 | 800 | 400 | 250 | 100 | 40 | |
| 7 | 700 | 350 | 225 | 90 | 35 | |
| 8 | 600 | 300 | 200 | 80 | 30 | |
| 9 | 550 | 280 | 175 | 70 | 27 | |
| 10 | 500 | 260 | 150 | 60 | 25 | |
| 11 | 480 | 240 | 125 | 50 | 23 | |
| 12 | 460 | 225 | 100 | 45 | 22 | |
| 13 | 440 | 200 | 90 | 35 | 19 | |
| 14 | 420 | 170 | 80 | 30 | 18 | |
| 15 | 400 | 150 | 70 | 25 | 17 | |
| 16 | 380 | 130 | 60 | 20 | 16 | |
* IBTA World Championships and IBSA World Games
** Open to national and international classified players
As outlined at the IBTA General Meeting on 2 December 2025, the IBTA is seeing a rise in tournament sanctioning requests. This growth brings new challenges and areas for improvement. The previous ranking system was designed to support one major tournament per year and no longer aligns with the current trend of multiple annual events. We remain committed to providing more competition opportunities for athletes with visual impairments
worldwide.
We also remain committed to the growth of Blind Tennis worldwide as IBTA will continue to work closely with IBSA on the official integration of our sport and its inclusion in the 2027 IBSA World Games in Taskent, Uzbekistan.
We invite everyone to stay informed, participate actively, and support our official events. The link to the official IBTA events calendar is: https://www.internationalblindtennis.org/calendar/