A matrix-based ranking method with application to tennis

We introduce, and investigate, a ranking methodology which may be of interest in sports like tennis. The approach may also be of interest in decision-making situations based on pairwise comparisons. The method is based on linear algebra and one computes a score for each player by solving a certain linear system of equations – from these scores one finds the ranking. The input is a set of matches, and weights representing the importance of the matches; this is represented by a weighted directed graph. We prove a number of properties of the method, including uniqueness of scores, connection to M-matrices and combinatorial interpretations. A case study from ranking in professional tennis is discussed in detail.