WTA Tour
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The WTA Tour (also known as the Hologic WTA Tour for sponsorship reasons) is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for women and organized by the Women's Tennis Association.[1] The second-tier tour is the WTA 125 series, and third-tier is the ITF Women's World Tennis Tour. The men's equivalent is the ATP Tour.
Season format
[edit | edit source]2024–present
[edit | edit source]In 2024, the WTA made all WTA 1000 events mandatory. The WTA Elite Trophy did not return:
- Grand Slam tournaments (4)
- Year-ending WTA Finals (1)
- WTA 1000 tournaments: Ten events with prize money ranging from US$2 million to US$10 million.
- WTA 500 tournaments: 17 events with prize money from US$700,000 to US$900,000.
- WTA 250 tournaments: 23 events, with prize money at US$250,000.
2021–2023
[edit | edit source]The WTA Tour underwent a slight change in the classification of tournaments in 2021, which were reorganized on with similar nomenclature to that used on ATP Tour:
- Grand Slam tournaments (4)
- Year-ending WTA Finals (1)
- Penultimate event WTA Elite Trophy (1)
- WTA 1000 tournaments (9):
- Mandatory: Five 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, Madrid, Rome and Beijing. The Beijing tournament was not held in 2021 and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and returned in 2023.
- Non-mandatory: Four events in Doha/Dubai, Montreal/Toronto, Cincinnati, and Wuhan with prize money ranging from US$2.3 million to US$2.7 million. From 2020 to 2023, the tournament in Wuhan was suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022 and 2023, a new WTA 1000 tournament was held in Guadalajara as a replacement for Wuhan. From 2021 to 2023, Doha and Dubai switched off, with one being a WTA 1000 event and the other being a WTA 500 event.
- WTA 500 tournaments: 12 events with prize money from US$700,000 to US$900,000.
- WTA 250 tournaments: 30 events, with prize money at US$250,000.
2009–2020
[edit | edit source]The WTA Tour comprised from 2009 to the 2021 reorganization:
- Grand Slam tournaments (4)
- Year-ending WTA Tour Championships (1)
- Penultimate event WTA Elite Trophy (From 2015 onwards) (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, Madrid, and Beijing.
- Premier Five: Five $2.8 million events in Doha/Dubai, Rome, Montreal/Toronto, Cincinnati, and Wuhan.
- Premier: 12 events with prize money from US$799,000 to US$2.5 million.
- International tournaments: There were 32 tournaments, with prize money for all except four events at US$250,000. The exceptions are the Shenzhen Open, Moscow River Cup, Hong Kong Tennis Open, the Tianjin Open, and the year-ending WTA Tournament of Champions, each with prize money of US$750,000.
WTA rankings
[edit | edit source]WTA publishes weekly rankings of professional players.
Current rankings
[edit | edit source]|
{{#section:Current tennis rankings|WTA singles ranking}} |
{{#section:Current tennis rankings|WTA doubles ranking}} |
Ranking method
[edit | edit source]The WTA rankings are based on a rolling 52-week, cumulative system. A player's ranking is determined by her results at a maximum of 18 tournaments for singles and 12 for doubles. Points are awarded based on how far a player advances in a tournament. The basis for calculating a player's ranking are those tournaments that yield the highest ranking points during the rolling 52-week period. The period must include:[2]
- the four Grand Slams
- six WTA 1000 Mandatory combined/virtually combined tournaments
- one WTA 1000 Mandatory (WTA-only) tournament
- the best of seven results from all WTA 1000 Mandatory, WTA 500, WTA 250, and WTA 125 Tournaments and ITF W15+ events
- the WTA Finals as a bonus tournament if the player attended
All WTA players also have a Universal Tennis Rating, based on head-to-head results.
The points distribution for tournaments in 2024 is shown below:
{{#section-h:WTA rankings|Points Table}}
See also
[edit | edit source]- WTA 125K series
- ITF Women's Circuit
- ATP Tour Association of Tennis Professionals Tour
