What moves a rating
Only official, completed match results in rating-enabled Sports Axiom events update a Sports Axiom Level. The result's weight reflects the score and the opponent's level, so a close match against a stronger opponent can help a rating even in a loss.
What never moves a rating
- defaults and walkovers
- retired matches
- voided scores
- professional or broadcast results from outside Sports Axiom
By default none of these produce a rating update, so a player's level reflects tennis that was actually played and recorded officially.
Starting out: Self Seed and provisional ratings
A new player starts with a Self Seed — their own honest estimate of their level, picked during registration. The rating stays provisional while the system learns from real results; the influence of the Self Seed decays over roughly the first six official matches, after which results alone carry the rating.
Staying current
Ratings do not silently drift when you stop playing, but confidence does decay with inactivity — see confidence and Match Level bands.