Tim still top in Britain

Henman defeated Rusedski in Adelaide last month

BBC tennis correspondent Iain Carter explains why Tim Henman remains Britain's number one and pleads for an end to the confusion in the tennis rankings system.

Contrary to many reports, Greg Rusedski's brilliant start to 2001 does not mean that the Canadian-born left hander has reassumed the mantle of British number one.

Despite two semi-final appearances - in Auckland and Milan - and victory over top seed Gustavo Kuerten en route to the last 16 of the Australian Open, Rusedski still has some way to go to overhaul Tim Henman at the head of the British rankings.

But Rusedski currently stands at number seven in the ATP's Champions Race compared with Henman's position of 17th and this is the root of the confusion that surrounds the domestic standings of Britain's top two.

It must always be remembered that the Champions Race is nothing more than a barometer of form and relates to a player's performances since 1 January.

So the winner of the first tournament of the year leads the race, but to regard that player as world number one as a result would be absurd.

That is why the tournaments use the old ranking system to determine whether a player is eligible for an event and who should be seeded.

Rusedski has beaten Safin and Kuerten this year

This list is known as the Entry System Positions, and though the ATP disagree, I believe the sport would benefit greatly if it were still known as the rankings.

The ATP say "call it the rankings if you want to" and I do, the problem is that the policy is not uniform amongst media outlets and so confusion abounds.

The Lawn Tennis Association's Press Office has been swamped with calls over whether Rusedski is British number one because he's higher than Henman in the Race.

This is the product of the ATP's system which was specifically designed to simplify the ranking issue for the average tennis fan.

Sorry guys but it hasn't worked.

Go back to the word ranking, place it alongside the race - honestly we can cope.

For the record Henman is ranked 10 in the world, Rusedski is ranked 48 and Henman will be British number one for some time yet.