LONDON — Men and women will receive equal prize money at all combined 1000 events — the highest level of competition outside the Grand Slams — from next year, the Women's Tennis Association has announced in what it called a major milestone for the sport.
Events at Indian Wells, California, Miami, Madrid and Beijing already met that commitment, as well as all four Grand Slams. The Italian Open, Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open will now also fall into line at combined events where men and women both feature. In 2023, Italian Open organisers had vowed to have equal prize money from 2025 but did not follow through on that pledge; this year the total men's prize money in Rome was £7.3m while the women received £6.3m. "Achieving equal prize money across all combined WTA 1000 tournaments is a major milestone for tennis," said WTA chair Valerie Camillo. "It demonstrates the WTA's continued commitment to leading the sports industry in delivering our athletes competitive and financial equality and demonstrates the enduring nature of the founding vision of the WTA."
The WTA also announced adjustments to the calendar to give players greater flexibility. Those alterations include a reduction of WTA 500-level tournaments from six to four for players ranked inside the top 50 in the world, and allowing players to replace one eligible WTA 1000 tournament result with a stronger WTA 500 or 250 result on their ranking. "We have listened to player feedback on the demands of the calendar, and responded with a meaningful reduction in commitments," Camillo added. American world number three Jessica Pegula said: "The 2027 changes give us more ability to build our seasons around our own goals - competitively and personally. That's an impactful step forward for players."
The move advances a long-standing aim of the WTA, which was formed in 1973 and changed women's tennis. With equal pay now secured across all combined WTA 1000 tournaments, the tour positions its premier events alongside the Grand Slams in delivering financial equality.