LONDON — Men and women will receive equal prize money at all combined 1000 events — the highest level of competition outside of the Grand Slams — from next year, the Women's Tennis Association has announced.
Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Beijing already met that commitment, as well as all four Grand Slams, but the Italian Open, Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open will now fall into line at combined events where men and women both feature. In 2023, Italian Open organisers had vowed to deliver equal prize money from 2025 but did not follow through, with total men's prize money in Rome this year at £7.3m compared to £6.3m for the women.
"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 was formed in 1973.
The WTA also announced calendar adjustments to give players greater flexibility. Those changes include a reduction in WTA 500-level tournament commitments from six to four for players ranked inside the top 50, and a new ranking provision that will allow players to replace one eligible WTA 1000 tournament result with a stronger WTA 500 or 250 result.
"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."