WTA ANNOUNCES EQUAL PRIZE MONEY FOR ALL 1000-LEVEL EVENTS FROM 2027
The Women's Tennis Association has announced that all combined WTA 1000 tournaments will award women the same total prize money as men from 2027, closing a gap at the last remaining holdout events. The Italian Open, the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open had been the only combined WTA 1000 tournaments still paying women less than men; the change brings them in line with Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Beijing and all four Grand Slams, which already offer equal pay. WTA chair Valerie Camillo described the move as "a major milestone for tennis" and said it reflected "the WTA's continued commitment to leading the sports industry in delivering our athletes competitive and financial equality". This year's Italian Open paid out $9.6m in total prize money to the men's draw against $8.3m for the women's, according to figures cited in connection with the tournament. Italian Open organisers had pledged in 2023 to introduce equal prize money from 2025 but did not do so.
The announcement invokes the history of the women's professional tour, which Billie Jean King has said she was prompted to help form after being paid $600 for winning the 1970 Italian Open while Ilie Nastase received $3,500 for winning the men's title that year. The WTA said its tour architecture council, a working group chaired by world number three Jessica Pegula, had played a significant role in shaping the changes. Alongside the prize money announcement, the WTA confirmed an expanded WTA 250-level tournament in Manila for next year, citing interest surrounding Philippine player Alex Eala, who is ranked 18th.
The WTA also announced changes to its tournament scheduling requirements, reducing the number of mandatory WTA 500-level events for top-50 ranked players from six to four. That will bring the total base playing commitment for those players to 14 WTA tournaments plus the four Grand Slams in 2027. The equal prize money policy is due to take effect at the start of the 2027 season, the WTA said.