No Rest for the Low-Ranked

None of the top 100 players on the ATP or WTA tours moved up or down in the rankings in the last couple of weeks, with only a few small tweaks in top-100 ATP point totals between the previous rankings and this week's, because being in the top 100 typically earns you a nice vacation in December, along with its many other benefits. Many of the players most of us have rarely heard of, however, have to think carefully about taking even a week off from working hard at raising those all-important rankings. This week, for example, 128 players from the lower tiers of the men's tours and women's tours are in Istanbul, Turkey, vying for points and shares of two $10,000 total purses. A tennis court is a much better place than most to earn a living, but for well over 90% of professional players, it's not an easy living.