Does Tennis Abstract have an API?

No. Tennis Abstract is a website, and the underlying data is published as CSV files on GitHub. Cito offers similar history through a documented REST API.

Can I use Jeff Sackmann's tennis data commercially?

His datasets are published under a Creative Commons non-commercial licence (BY-NC-SA 4.0). For a commercial product you need data licensed for that use, such as an API plan.

Do the player IDs match the Sackmann files?

Player IDs follow the same atp_ and wta_ numbering, so most joins from existing work carry over.

How often is the data updated?

Results arrive as matches finish, and live matches update during play. Rankings update weekly when the tours publish them.

Do you have Match Charting Project data?

No. We do not offer shot-by-shot charting. We do have point-by-point scoring for about 29,000 matches since September 2025.

Is there a free plan?

Yes. Create a free key to try the tennis REST endpoints, then move to a paid plan for higher limits, live push and CSV files.

GuideHistorical tennis data

The Sackmann tennis data, as a live API.

If you started with the tennis_atp and tennis_wta CSVs, you know the data. This is the same depth of history, kept current every day, with live matches, weekly rankings and one ID per player, behind a documented API you can ship.

Get a free API key Read the docs

Updated daily, live during play
Commercial use on every plan
Same Open Era depth

GET /tennis/rankings?tour=ATP&date=2024-01-01&page_size=2200 OK

$ curl "https://api.citoapi.com/api/v1/tennis/rankings?tour=ATP&date=2024-01-01&page_size=2" \ -H "x-api-key: $CITO_API_KEY"

{  "ranking_date": "2024-01-01",  "tour": "ATP",  "items": [    {      "rank": 1,      "player_id": "atp_104925",      "player_name": "Novak Djokovic",      "points": 11245,      "tournaments_played": 16    },    {      "rank": 2,      "player_id": "atp_207989",      "player_name": "Carlos Alcaraz",      "points": 8855,      "tournaments_played": 17    }  ]}

Seamless Integration with our MCP Server

Give Claude, Cursor, and ChatGPT the tennis archive. One command writes the MCP config, agents call match, ranking and head-to-head tools with real player IDs instead of guessing, and your key stays on your machine.

MCPInstall the Cito MCP server

What you keep, and what you gain

The community CSVs made tennis analytics possible. An API makes it something you can run in production.

Familiar IDs

Player IDs follow the same atp_/wta_ numbering many analysts already use, so joins carry over.

Current every day

Results arrive as matches finish, not when the next file is published.

Live matches

Set, game, server and point-by-point for matches in progress, over REST or WebSocket.

Challengers and WTA 125

The level below the tour, with results back to 1978 (men) and 1972 (women).

Commercial use

Use it in a product you sell, under your plan, instead of a non-commercial licence.

No CSV parsing

Filtered JSON over REST, an MCP server for AI agents, and CSV files when you want them.

Tennis Abstract data vs Cito: what is the difference?

Jeff Sackmann's datasets on GitHub (tennis_atp, tennis_wta) and his Tennis Abstract site are the best-known free tennis data. They are research resources: CSV files under a non-commercial licence, updated periodically, with no API. Cito covers the same history as an API, updated daily and live, and licensed for commercial use.

We do not offer shot-level charting. If you need it, the Match Charting Project remains the source.
	Sackmann CSVs / Tennis Abstract	Cito tennis API
Format	CSV files on GitHub, plus the Tennis Abstract website	REST JSON, WebSocket, MCP server, CSV on request
Licence	Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 (non-commercial)	Commercial use under your plan
Freshness	Periodic file updates	Results as matches finish; live scores during play
History	Open Era tour level, plus Challengers and Futures	Results since 1877; tour level since 1968; Challengers since 1978
Rankings	Weekly files	Weekly lists since 1973 (ATP) and 1984 (WTA), any date or any player's history
Live data	None	Live set, game, server and point-by-point
Shot-by-shot charting	Match Charting Project (selected matches)	Not available

How do I move from the CSVs to the API?

Replace each file read with a filtered request. A season file becomes /tennis/matches?tour=ATP&year=2023, a rankings file becomes /tennis/rankings?tour=ATP&date=..., and a player lookup becomes /tennis/players/search?q=.... Player IDs use the same atp_ and wta_ numbering, so existing joins keep working.

If you read	Call instead
atp_matches_2023.csv	GET /api/v1/tennis/matches?tour=ATP&year=2023&page_size=100
atp_rankings_current.csv	GET /api/v1/tennis/rankings?tour=ATP
A ranking file for a past week	GET /api/v1/tennis/rankings?tour=ATP&date=2024-01-01
atp_players.csv	GET /api/v1/tennis/players/search?q=sinner
Filtering one player's matches	GET /api/v1/tennis/matches?player_id=atp_206173

When should I keep using the free CSVs?

For personal research, a class project or a one-off analysis, the free CSVs are a great fit and cost nothing. Choose an API when the work becomes a product: you need it current every day, live during play, covered beyond the tour level, or used commercially.

Endpoints you can ship with

Start on rankings: any week's list since 1973, or one player's week-by-week history.

Live scores

Every match in progress with the set scores, the game score, who is serving, and live match stats. Open one match for its full state.

View docs

GET/api/v1/tennis/matches/live
Matches in progress: sets, game score, server, and live stats.
GET/api/v1/tennis/matches/live/{match_id}
One live match: every set, the current game, and both players' stats.
GET/api/v1/tennis/matches/{match_id}/status
Scheduled, in progress, or finished, with the result once decided.
GET/api/v1/tennis/schedule
The day's order of play across tours.
GET/api/v1/tennis/matches/upcoming
Scheduled matches, soonest first.

Results

Finished matches with the score of every set, the winner and loser, and the serve and return box score behind them.

View docs

GET/api/v1/tennis/matches/recent
Finished matches, newest first, with set scores.
GET/api/v1/tennis/matches/completed
Every match completed on a given day.
GET/api/v1/tennis/matches/{match_id}
One match: tournament, round, surface, score, and box score.
GET/api/v1/tennis/matches/{match_id}/stats
Aces, double faults, first-serve %, points won, break points.
GET/api/v1/tennis/matches?player_id=&year=&surface=
The archive, filtered by player, opponent, year, surface, level or round.

Players

Player profiles with country, hand and birth date, career serve and return stats, recent form, and every match played.

View docs

GET/api/v1/tennis/players/search?q={name}
Find a player by name and get their id.
GET/api/v1/tennis/players/{player_id}
Name, country, hand, height, birth date and ranking.
GET/api/v1/tennis/players/{player_id}/stats
Career and season serve, return and win-loss stats.
GET/api/v1/tennis/players/{player_id}/form
Recent results and win rate.
GET/api/v1/tennis/players/{player_id}/matches
The player's match log, newest first.

Head-to-head

The full record between two players, split by surface and level, or a grid of records across a group of players.

View docs

GET/api/v1/tennis/h2h?player1_id=&player2_id=
Wins, losses and every meeting between two players.
GET/api/v1/tennis/h2h/{player1_id}/{player2_id}
The same record in path form.
GET/api/v1/tennis/h2h/matrix?player_ids=
A head-to-head grid for several players at once.

Rankings

Weekly ATP and WTA singles rankings with points and movement, back through the decades, and any player's ranking history.

View docs

GET/api/v1/tennis/rankings
A full weekly ranking table for ATP or WTA.
GET/api/v1/tennis/rankings/top
The top N players of the latest list.
GET/api/v1/tennis/rankings/movers
Biggest risers and fallers between two lists.
GET/api/v1/tennis/rankings/history/{player_id}
One player's ranking, week by week.
GET/api/v1/tennis/rankings/dates
Every ranking date on file.

Tournaments

Tournaments from Grand Slams to ITF events, the season calendar, and the draw of any edition as a bracket.

View docs

GET/api/v1/tennis/tournaments
Tournaments filtered by tour, level, surface and year.
GET/api/v1/tennis/tournaments/calendar?year=2026
One season's tournament calendar.
GET/api/v1/tennis/tournaments/{tournament_id}
One tournament: level, surface, location and editions.
GET/api/v1/tennis/tournaments/{tournament_id}/draw
The draw of the latest edition.
GET/api/v1/tennis/tournaments/{tournament_id}/editions/{year}/draw
The draw of any past edition.

Leaderboards

Season leaders for the stats that decide matches, computed from every match box score.

View docs

GET/api/v1/tennis/leaderboards/aces
Most aces in the season.
GET/api/v1/tennis/leaderboards/1st-serve-won
Best first-serve points won %.
GET/api/v1/tennis/leaderboards/break-conversion
Best break-point conversion.
GET/api/v1/tennis/leaderboards/tiebreak-win-pct
Best tiebreak record.
GET/api/v1/tennis/leaderboards/comeback-wins
Most wins after losing the first set.

Coverage

What the dataset holds: tours, levels, ITF and junior coverage, and the years on file.

View docs

GET/api/v1/tennis/coverage
Tours, levels, year range, ITF and junior event counts.
GET/api/v1/tennis/competitions
Every competition with its tour and level.

Figures on this page were checked against the live API on 2026-10-24.

FAQs

Licences, IDs, freshness and coverage

Can't find what you're looking for? Contact our customer support team

More tennis data

Pages that pair with a move off the CSVs.

See plans

Ship tennis data for Elo models

Keep the history you know, add live data and daily updates, and use it in a product. Start on a free key.

Get a free API key

The Sackmann tennis data, as a live API.

Seamless Integration with our MCP Server

What you keep, and what you gain

Familiar IDs

Current every day

Live matches

Challengers and WTA 125

Commercial use

No CSV parsing

Tennis Abstract data vs Cito: what is the difference?

How do I move from the CSVs to the API?

When should I keep using the free CSVs?

Endpoints you can ship with

Live scores

Results

Players

Head-to-head

Rankings

Tournaments

Leaderboards

Coverage

FAQs

More tennis data

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Ship tennis data for Elo models