WTA sets equal prize money at combined 1000 events from 2027
The Italian, Canadian and Cincinnati Opens will join combined 1000-level tournaments already paying women and men equally. The WTA is also reducing mandatory appearances for leading players.
Equal prize money will apply at all combined WTA 1000 events from 2027, alongside reduced tournament obligations for top-50 players.
- Italian, Canadian and Cincinnati Opens will introduce parity.
- Madrid and three other WTA 1000 events already pay equally.
- Top-50 players’ WTA 500 requirement falls from six to four.
- One stronger WTA 500 or 250 result may replace a 1000 result.
- The changes will be tested for one year.
What's new
- Equal prize money will apply at every combined WTA 1000 event in 2027. [s1, s2, s3]
- The Italian, Canadian and Cincinnati Opens will introduce parity. [s2, s3]
- Top-50 players’ mandatory WTA 500 appearances will fall from six to four. [s1, s2, s3]
The Women’s Tennis Association announced on 1 October that women and men will receive equal prize money at every combined 1000-level tournament from 2027, with the Italian Open in Rome, the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open among the events adopting parity.123
Parity across the leading combined events
WTA 1000 tournaments are the highest level on the women’s tour below the four Grand Slams. Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Beijing already meet the equal-prize-money commitment, as do all four Grand Slam tournaments. The 2027 change will extend that standard across the entire group of combined 1000-level events.123
The three events still due to adopt parity are the Opens in Rome, Canada and Cincinnati. The measure concerns combined tournaments, where women’s and men’s competitions are held as part of the same event, and will equalise the total prize money offered to players in those draws.123
Rome has been a particular focus of the disparity. In 2023, Italian Open organisers promised to equalise payouts beginning in 2025, but they failed to honour that pledge. The available sources disagree over the precise men’s and women’s prize totals at the latest edition, so those figures remain unresolved.123
Fewer mandatory appearances
The WTA is pairing the prize-money decision with changes to player obligations. From 2027, singles players ranked inside the top 50 will be required to enter four WTA 500 tournaments each year rather than six. Their resulting base commitment will be 14 WTA events in addition to the four Grand Slams.123
Players will also be able to remove one eligible WTA 1000 result from their ranking calculation when they have earned a stronger result at a WTA 500 or WTA 250 tournament. The changes are intended to give players greater control over schedules while preserving incentives to compete at events below the 1000 level.12
The WTA said it had acted after receiving feedback about the calendar’s demands. Jessica Pegula, the American world number three and chair of the tour architecture council, welcomed the additional scope for players to organise their seasons around competitive and personal priorities. The council contributed heavily to the work, according to The Guardian.12
The revised system will operate as a one-year pilot during 2027, according to the WTA. Its operation will then be assessed before decisions are taken for 2028 and later seasons.1
Why it matters
For European audiences, the change directly affects the Italian Open in Rome, while Madrid is among the tournaments that already provide equal prize money. It also changes how top-50 players plan their seasons, reducing required WTA 500 appearances and allowing one stronger result from a lower-tier event to replace an eligible WTA 1000 result.123
Version history
- version 1 ·