The WTA will change three things about how its tour works in 2027. Every WTA 1000 tournament played alongside the men will pay women and men the same prize money. Top-50 players will have to play fewer WTA 500 events. And a player will be able to swap one WTA 1000 result for a better result at a smaller event when her ranking is calculated. The WTA announced the changes on 1 October 2026 with its 2027 calendar, and the commitment and ranking changes run as a one-year pilot.
Equal prize money at the combined WTA 1000s
A combined event is one where the ATP and WTA tournaments are played together. In 2027 the Italian Open in Rome, the National Bank Open in Montreal and Toronto and the Cincinnati Open will pay equal prize money for the first time, according to the WTA. They join Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Beijing, along with the United Cup and the four Grand Slams, which already do.
The gap being closed is not small. Total prize money at the 2026 Italian Open was $9.6 million for the men and $8.3 million for the women, the Associated Press reported. Rome’s organizers pledged in 2023 to pay equal prize money from 2025 but did not do so, according to the AP.
Rome carries history here. Billie Jean King has often said she was moved to form the women’s tour after earning $600 for winning the 1970 Italian Open, while Ilie Nastase received $3,500 for the men’s title, the AP noted.
“Achieving equal prize money across all combined WTA 1000 tournaments is a major milestone for tennis,” WTA chair Valerie Camillo said in the WTA’s announcement.
Where this sits in the WTA’s 2023 plan
In June 2023 the WTA set out a pathway to equal prize money: combined WTA 1000 and 500 events by 2027, and single-week WTA 1000 and 500 events by 2033, according to the WTA’s release at the time and Agence France-Presse. The 2027 announcement completes the combined WTA 1000 part of that plan on schedule.
Two parts are still open. The October 2026 announcement names the combined WTA 1000s; it does not say whether the combined WTA 500 events, which the 2023 plan also targeted for 2027, have reached equal pay. And the one-week WTA 1000s that the women play without the men, Doha, Dubai and Wuhan, sit under the later 2033 target. The WTA said a new Tournament Investment Fund, which will direct money to selected tournaments, is intended to advance its equal prize money initiative.
Fewer required WTA 500 events
Under the current rules, a top-50 player’s WTA 500 commitment is up to six events a year, alongside every WTA 1000 she is accepted into. GTN’s WTA mandatory events explainer sets out how that works, including the zero-point results and fines for missed commitments.
In 2027 the WTA 500 requirement for top-50 singles players falls from six to four. The WTA said that leaves a base playing commitment of 14 WTA tournaments plus the four Grand Slams.
“As players, we’re on the road most of the year, so having more flexibility in our schedules and commitments makes a real difference,” said Jessica Pegula, who chairs the WTA’s Tour Architecture Council. “The 2027 changes give us more ability to build our seasons around our own goals — competitively and personally.”
The ranking change
Players will be allowed to replace one eligible WTA 1000 result with a stronger WTA 500 or 250 result in their ranking, the WTA said. In practice, a poor week or a missed WTA 1000 no longer has to stand in the ranking if the player has a better result elsewhere. The announcement does not define which WTA 1000 results count as eligible; that detail will be set out in the 2027 rules.
Who decided it, and for how long
The commitment and ranking changes came from the Tour Architecture Council, a working group of players, tournaments and WTA leadership chaired by Pegula, and were approved by the WTA Board of Directors. The WTA said they will run as a one-year pilot in 2027 so it can assess their effect before deciding on 2028 and beyond.
“We have listened to player feedback on the demands of the calendar, and responded with a meaningful reduction in commitments,” Camillo said.
The rest of the 2027 calendar
The 2027 WTA season has 55 events in 26 countries and territories, including a new WTA 250 tournament in Manila, according to the WTA. The season ends at the WTA Finals in Charlotte, North Carolina, which the WTA described as the event’s new home. GTN’s WTA Finals qualification explainer covers how players earn a place there.
What to watch
The equal prize money step at the combined WTA 1000s was a long-standing commitment, so it is the commitment and ranking changes that are being tested. The WTA has said it will use the 2027 season to evaluate them. Three questions remain open: whether the pilot continues into 2028, whether the combined WTA 500s are paying equal prize money, and how the one-week events move toward the 2033 target.
