The WTA reduces the schedule of the best players and aligns the prize money

The players' discontent was, at least in part, heard. Faced with recurring criticism of the overloading of the calendar, the WTA announced Thursday, October 1, that it would reduce in 2027 the number of tournaments that the highest ranked players must play.

In the current system, the top 50 players in the world are obliged to play each year in the four Grand Slam tournaments, ten WTA 1000s (the most prestigious and lucrative category of tournaments on the circuit) and six WTA 500s. In 2027, they will only be required to play four WTA 500s instead of six, the women's circuit announced in a press release published Thursday.

In addition, they will be able to replace the points acquired during a WTA 1000 with those acquired during a WTA 500 or a WTA 250. In other words, a player who renounces playing in a compulsory WTA 1000 could still integrate into her ranking the points collected during a less prestigious tournament, where she now risks zero points.

These new rules will only apply in 2027 for the moment. The WTA will then evaluate their impact to decide whether or not to renew them in 2028. In January, the ATP announced a similar measure by reducing from five to four in 2026 the number of compulsory ATP 500s for the 30 best players in the world.

Financial compensation identical to men in more tournaments

The press release published Thursday also indicates that for the first time, the prize pool for the "combined" WTA 1000 (organized at the same time as a Masters 1000 on the ATP circuit) will be identical to that of the corresponding men's tournaments. If the WTA and Masters 1000 in Indian Wells, Miami and Madrid already granted the same prize money to players, this was not yet the case for the WTA 1000 in Rome, Canada and Cincinnati.

The WTA has finally unveiled the calendar for the 2027 season, which will include the new tournament in the Philippines, home of world number 18 Alexandra Eala, one of the most popular players on the circuit. The first WTA 250 in Manila, which will replace the WTA 250 tournament in Chennai (India) created in 2025, will take place from November 1 to 7, 2027, the week preceding the end-of-season Masters.

Other changes to the calendar: the Rabat tournament (clay), traditionally organized the week before Roland-Garros, was brought forward a few weeks to be played during the second week of the WTA 1000 in Madrid. The WTA 500 tournament in Strasbourg will thus be the only one to be played during the week preceding the Paris Grand Slam.

The WTA 250 tournaments in Hamburg and Iasi (Romania), played on clay, have swapped positions in the calendar: the first will now be played the week after Wimbledon, and the second the following week. Introduced to the calendar in 2026, the WTA 250 in Ostrava and Athens (played on hard) will have a second edition in 2027, in February and July respectively.