The WTA Tour is a worldwide top-tier
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
tour for women organized by the
Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) is the principal organizing body of women's professional tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women and was founded to create a better future for women's tenn ...
. The second-tier tour is the
WTA 125K series
WTA 125 tournaments are an international series of professional women's tennis tournaments organized by the Women's Tennis Association since 2012.
In the past (2012–2015) sometimes called the WTA Challenger seriesITF Women's Circuit
The ITF Women's World Tennis Tour, previously known as the ITF Women's Circuit, is a series of professional tennis tournaments run by the International Tennis Federation for female professional tennis players.
History
It serves as a developmental ...
. The men's equivalent is the
ATP Tour
The ATP Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals. The second-tier tour is the ATP Challenger Tour and the third-tier is the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour. The equivalent women's organ ...
.
WTA Tour tournaments
Structure (2021–present)
The WTA Tour underwent slight change in the classification of tournaments in 2021, which were organized on par with the nomenclature used on
ATP Tour
The ATP Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals. The second-tier tour is the ATP Challenger Tour and the third-tier is the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour. The equivalent women's organ ...
:
*
Grand Slam
Grand Slam most often refers to:
* Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves
Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to:
Games and sports
* Grand slam, winning category te ...
tournaments (4)
*Year-ending
WTA Finals
The WTA Finals (formerly known as the WTA Tour Championships or WTA Championships) is a tournament of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) played annually at the end of the season. The event is uniquely reserved for players at the top of the WTA ...
(1)
*
WTA 1000 tournaments
WTA 1000 tournaments is a category of tennis tournaments on the WTA Tour, governed by the Women's Tennis Association. The old WTA Premier Mandatory and Premier 5 tournaments merged into a single highest tier and it is implemented since the r ...
(9):
** Mandatory: Four combined tournaments with male professional players with prize money ranging from US$6.5 million to US$8.3 million. These tournaments are held in
Indian Wells,
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
,
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, and
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
. However, Beijing tournament could not be held in 2021–22 due to the impact of
Covid-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
** Non-mandatory: Five events in
Doha
Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...
/
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
,
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
,
Montreal/Toronto,
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, and
Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...
with prize money ranging from US$2.3 million to US$2.7 million. In 2021–22, the tournament in Wuhan was suspended due to Covid–19 Pandemic. Also, in 2022, a new WTA 1000 tournament was held in
Guadalajara
Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...
as a replacement for Wuhan.
*
WTA 500 tournaments WTA may refer to:
Organizations
*Washington Trails Association
*Whatcom Transportation Authority
*Waskahegan Trail Association, the management board for the Waskahegan Trail
*Water Transit Authority, former name of the San Francisco Bay Area Water ...
: 12 events with prize money from US$700,000 to US$900,000.
*
WTA 250 tournaments
WTA 250 tournaments is a category of tennis tournaments in the Women's Tennis Association tour, implemented since the reorganization of the schedule in 2021. Earlier these events were classified as WTA International tournaments, WTA Internationa ...
: There are nearly 30 tournaments, with prize money at US$250,000.
Structure (2009–2020)
The WTA Tour comprised from 2009 to the 2020 reorganization:
*
Grand Slam
Grand Slam most often refers to:
* Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves
Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to:
Games and sports
* Grand slam, winning category te ...
tournaments (4)
*Year-ending
WTA Tour Championships WTA may refer to:
Organizations
*Washington Trails Association
*Whatcom Transportation Authority
*Waskahegan Trail Association, the management board for the Waskahegan Trail
*Water Transit Authority, former name of the San Francisco Bay Area Water ...
(1)
*
Premier tournaments (21):
** Premier Mandatory: Four combined tournaments with male professional players, with US$6.5 million in equal prize money for men and women (increased from $4.5 million in 2013). These tournaments are held in
Indian Wells,
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
,
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, and
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
.
** Premier Five: Five $2.8 million events in
Doha
Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...
/
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
,
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
,
Montreal/Toronto,
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, and
Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...
.
** Premier: 12 events with prize money from US$799,000 to US$2.5 million.
*
International tournaments: There are 32 tournaments, with prize money for all except four events at US$250,000. The exceptions are the
Shenzhen Open,
Moscow River Cup
The Moscow River Cup was a WTA Tour International-level professional women's tennis tournament. It took place on outdoor clay courts, in July 2018 at the National Tennis Center of Juan Antonio Samaranch, in Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; ...
,
Hong Kong Tennis Open
The Hong Kong Open (currently sponsored by Prudential and called the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open) is a professional tennis tournament in Hong Kong SAR. Organised by the Hong Kong Tennis Association, the tournament is held annually in ear ...
and the
Tianjin Open
The Tianjin Open is an International-level WTA tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket th ...
, each with prize money of US$750,000; and the year-ending
WTA Elite Trophy
The WTA Elite Trophy is the second-tier year-end professional women's tennis tournament on the WTA Tour. It is the successor event of the different format WTA Tournament of Champions, which took place from 2009–14.
The Elite Trophy takes place ...
in Zhuhai which has prize money of US$2.3 million.
WTA rankings
WTA publishes weekly rankings of professional players.
Current rankings
See also
*
WTA 125K series
WTA 125 tournaments are an international series of professional women's tennis tournaments organized by the Women's Tennis Association since 2012.
In the past (2012–2015) sometimes called the WTA Challenger seriesITF Women's Circuit
The ITF Women's World Tennis Tour, previously known as the ITF Women's Circuit, is a series of professional tennis tournaments run by the International Tennis Federation for female professional tennis players.
History
It serves as a developmental ...
*
ATP Tour
The ATP Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals. The second-tier tour is the ATP Challenger Tour and the third-tier is the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour. The equivalent women's organ ...
Association of Tennis Professionals Tour
References
{{International sports tours
Tennis tours and series
Women's tennis tournaments
Women's Tennis Association
Recurring sporting events established in 1973