Saudi Arabia to host WTA Finals for next three years with record $15 million prize money

The WTA Finals, the crown jewel of the women’s tennis tour, is heading to Saudi Arabia, with Riyadh announced on Thursday as the host city for the next three season-ending championships.

This year’s WTA Finals will take place in the Saudi Arabian capital from November 2-9 and will offer record prize money of $15.25 million, with further increases planned for 2025 and 2026.

That amount eclipses the $15 million prize pot offered to the men at the ATP Finals in Turin last year and also surpasses the $14 million earned by the players at the WTA Finals in Shenzhen, China, in 2019.

The 10-year deal between the WTA and Shenzhen, which kicked off in 2019, failed to take hold and the tour made one-off stops post-Covid in Guadalajara, Fort Worth, and Cancun, as the search continued for a long-term home for the event.

According to a WTA press release, an evaluation process took place over several months to assess multiple bids to host the Finals. The three main criteria on which the Tour based the selection are: the ability to deliver and fund a world-class event for players and fans, support for the WTA’s ambition to achieve equal prize money for women, and the strength of the bidder’s commitment to growing the WTA Finals and the sport over time.

Ultimately the bid from the Saudi Tennis Federation (STF) checked all the boxes and an agreement was finally reached. Besides the record prize money on offer, the WTA says the partnership with the STF will “also support broader investment in the future development and growth of women’s tennis, including the WTA’s plans to grow the global fanbase for women’s tennis through increased investment in marketing, digital and fan engagement”.

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