WTA Cuts Required Events and Sets 2027 Prize Parity

The Women’s Tennis Association announced changes to its 2027 calendar that will reduce the required number of WTA 500 tournaments for top-50 players and bring equal prize money to all combined WTA 1000 events. The changes are planned as a one-year pilot, with the tour to assess their impact before making decisions for 2028 and beyond. Under the revised requirements, top-50 players will need to enter four WTA 500 events in 2027, down from six. Their base commitment will be 14 WTA tournaments, in addition to the four Grand Slam tournaments. Players will also be allowed to replace one eligible WTA 1000 result with a stronger result from a WTA 500 or WTA 250 event. The prize-money change will extend parity to the remaining combined WTA 1000 tournaments: Rome, the Canadian Open and Cincinnati. Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Beijing already offer equal prize money, according to the announcement. The WTA said the change means all combined events in the category will offer equal prize money to women and men from 2027. The WTA’s announcement follows years of discussion about the demands of the tennis calendar.