The WTA on Tuesday announced an exciting new strategy that “charts a strong path” towards equal prize money and a revised WTA Tour schedule that “provides long-term sustainable growth for women’s tennis.”
According to the WTA, these changes “will support the growth of the sport and improve the overall experience for all fans worldwide of the WTA and the rest of the key parties within the game.”
The women’s circuit “will have the best players consistently competing in the best tournaments, while also providing a structure for player mobility and growth opportunities.”
The WTA indicated that one of the main pillars of the strategy “includes creating a path towards equal prize money, a goal envisioned 50 years ago when Billie Jean King founded the WTA.”
“This increase will occur over time to ensure the changes are sustainable for players and tournaments in the long term, with the combined WTA 1,000 and 500 tournaments doling out the same prize money by 2027, and the WTA 1,000 and 500 a single week to 2033“.
The number of WTA 1,000 level tournaments increases to 10 and includes several transitioning to two weeks and with that, bigger draws: Rome (2023), Beijing (2024) and Cincinnati and Toronto/Montreal (2025), plus existing appointments in Indian Wells, Miami and Madrid. Additional WTA 1,000 events will be week-long championships in Doha, Dubai and one yet to be defined.
Likewise, the new registration rules for the players will guarantee the constant presence of the best in the ranking in these ‘premium’ tournaments throughout the year. The increase in the two-week WTA 1,000 tournaments combined with the men’s ATP “demonstrates a clearer alignment on both Tours,” she adds.
This new strategy also seeks to improve WTA 500 events and increase their value, which will be achieved through various strategic additions and less schedule overlap, along with new entry rules to improve the quality of player rosters.
The WTA 500 tournaments will increase to 17 in the new calendar: Abu Dhabi, Adelaide, Berlin, Brisbane, Charleston, Eastbourne, Monterrey, San Diego, Seoul, Strasbourg, Stuttgart, Tokyo, United Cup, Washington, Zhengzhou and two more yet to be defined. .
At the WTA 250 level, tournaments will have “a stronger regional focus to create a more sustainable and viable business model that will help foster the next generation of stars.”
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