WTA announces equal prize money at all combined 1000 events by 2027

The Women's Tennis Association announced on October 1, 2026, that all combined WTA 1000 tournaments will award equal prize money to men and women starting in 2027. The commitment brings three holdout events, the Italian Open, Canadian Open, and Cincinnati Open, into full parity, completing the goal across the tour's highest tier of combined competitions.

Events at Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, and Beijing, along with all four Grand Slams, were already operating under equal prize money terms. The three remaining 1000-level events will now join them in 2027, per BBC Sport.

The announcement arrives after a false start at the Italian Open. In 2023, the event's organizers pledged to implement equal prize money from 2025 but did not follow through on that commitment. At the 2026 Italian Open in Rome, the men's total prize pool was 7.3 million pounds (approximately $9.6 million USD), while women received 6.3 million pounds ($8.3 million USD), according to the BBC and The Guardian.

WTA Chair Valerie Camillo framed the achievement as transformative: "Achieving equal prize money across all combined WTA 1000 tournaments is a major milestone for tennis. It demonstrates the WTA's continued commitment to leading the sports industry in delivering our athletes competitive and financial equality and is a testament to the enduring nature of the founding vision of the WTA," per BBC Sport.

The announcement included structural changes to the competitive calendar, framed as a one-year pilot for 2027 with evaluation to follow. Top-50 players will be required to compete in four WTA 500-level tournaments instead of six, resulting in a total base commitment of 14 WTA tournaments plus the four Grand Slams. Players will also be allowed to replace one eligible WTA 1000 result with a stronger WTA 500 or 250 result on their ranking, per BBC Sport. An expanded WTA 250 tournament in Manila, Philippines, was announced for 2027, according to The Guardian.

Jessica Pegula, ranked third in the world and chair of the tour's architecture council, offered player perspective on both changes. On prize money parity: "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," per BBC Sport. On schedule flexibility: "As players, we're on the road most of the year, so having more flexibility in our schedules and commitments makes a real difference," she told The Guardian.

The prize money parity closes a chapter that began nearly 56 years earlier. In 1970, Billie Jean King earned $600 for winning the Italian Open title while Ilie Nastase took home $3,500 for the men's tournament, per The Guardian.