Apart from the four Grand Slams, the most prestigious tennis
tournaments are probably the Olympics and the Davis Cup. However,
you're probably enquiring about the myriad of other lesser know
tournaments that make up the "official" calendar, in which case the
nine that comprise the ATP Masters Series and the final tournament
of the season, the Tennis Masters Cup are generally considered the
most important (though the Tennis Masters Cup is men only). The ATP
Masters Series: These are nine tournaments that are mandatory for
professionals who participate in the official circuit. As far as
I'm aware, no one particular tournament is considered more
prestigious than the rest. # India Wells Masters (California) #
Miami Masters # Canada Masters (Montreal or Toronto) # Rome Masters
# Paris Masters # Monte-Carlo Masters # Hamburg Masters #
Cincinnati Masters # Madrid Masters These may all be known by the
name of the current sponsor, EG Paris is the BNP Paribas Masters.
The ATP Masters Cup: This is a round robin event at the end of the
season between the top eight (male) world ranked players. From 2009
it will be held in London and renamed the ATP World Tour Finals.
Below the ATP Masters Series, there are two other series of
tournaments (not mandatory - the pro's can pick and choose): The
ATP International Series Gold and the ATP International Series. So,
ignoring the Olympics and the Davis Cup, there are fourteen major
tournaments: the four slams, the nine masters and the end of season
masters cup. Which is the most prestigious probably depends on your
preferred surface!
