WTA Unveils 2027 Calendar With 55 Events, Equal Prize Money Milestone and New Manila Tournament
The WTA has officially unveiled its 2027 Tour calendar, featuring 55 events across 26 countries and territories, a new tournament in the Philippines and a major milestone in the push toward equal prize money.
Announced on October 1, the 2027 season will once again take women’s tennis around the world before ending with the WTA Finals in Charlotte, North Carolina. The calendar is accompanied by several changes designed to give players more flexibility while maintaining strong fields at the Tour’s biggest events.
Perhaps the biggest development, however, will come off the court: for the first time, every combined WTA 1000 tournament will offer equal prize money to women and men.
55 Events Across 26 Countries and Territories
The 2027 WTA Tour will feature 55 tournaments across 26 countries and territories, continuing the global structure of the women’s professional circuit.
Among the notable additions is a new WTA 250 tournament in Manila, Philippines, bringing a full WTA Tour-level event to the country.
The Manila tournament follows the successful introduction of the Philippine Women’s Open as a WTA 125 event in 2026 and represents another significant expansion of professional women’s tennis in the Philippines.
The season will eventually lead to Charlotte, where the world’s leading players will compete at the year-end championships.
WTA Finals Move to Charlotte
The WTA Finals will be staged at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, from 2027 through 2029.
Charlotte takes over as the tournament’s longer-term home after the 2026 edition at Indian Wells.
The WTA has also announced plans to relocate its global headquarters to Charlotte, strengthening the association’s connection to the city beyond the season-ending tournament.
Only the leading singles players and doubles teams from the season will qualify for the Finals through the Race to the WTA Finals.
Equal Prize Money at Every Combined WTA 1000
One of the biggest changes for 2027 concerns prize money.
For the first time, all combined ATP and WTA 1000 tournaments will award equal prize money to women and men.
Three tournaments will reach the milestone in 2027:
- Internazionali BNL d’Italia — Rome
- National Bank Open — Montreal/Toronto
- Cincinnati Open
They will join Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Beijing, which already offer equal prize money at their combined ATP-WTA events. The United Cup and all four Grand Slam tournaments also offer equal prize money to men and women.
The development represents an important step in a process the WTA has been working toward for years.
When the Tour announced its long-term strategy in 2023, it set a target for combined WTA 1000 and WTA 500 events to reach equal prize money by 2027, with other single-week WTA 1000 and WTA 500 tournaments targeted for parity by 2033.
Top Players Will Have Fewer Mandatory WTA 500 Events
The calendar announcement also includes changes to the number of tournaments leading players are required to play.
Beginning in 2027, Top 50 singles players will be required to play four WTA 500 tournaments instead of six.
That will reduce their total base commitment to:
14 WTA tournaments + the four Grand Slams
The change follows feedback from players about the physical and logistical demands of a long tennis season.
The new structure was developed through the WTA Tour Architecture Council, which brings together players, tournaments and WTA leadership.
World No. 3 Jessica Pegula chairs the council.
Pegula said the changes would allow players to build their schedules with greater consideration for both competitive and personal goals.
The new rules will operate as a one-year pilot during the 2027 season, with the WTA evaluating their impact before deciding what changes should continue into 2028 and beyond.
New Ranking Flexibility
There will also be an important change to how certain results count toward the WTA Rankings.
Players will be allowed to replace one eligible WTA 1000 tournament result with a stronger result from a WTA 500 or WTA 250 tournament.
This could provide players with more flexibility when building their schedules while also increasing the value of strong performances at tournaments below WTA 1000 level.
It is another part of the WTA’s attempt to balance its desire to have the best players competing regularly at major tournaments with concerns about workload and schedule flexibility.
WTA Launches Tournament Investment Fund
The WTA will also introduce a new Tournament Investment Fund in 2027.
According to the Tour, the fund will provide targeted financial assistance to selected markets where investment could make the greatest impact.
The initiative is intended to support several of the WTA’s strategic priorities, including its long-term equal prize money goals and the financial health of tournaments around the world.
WTA Chair Valerie Camillo described the fund as being inspired by central funding structures used in other professional sports leagues.
Manila Joins the WTA Tour
For fans in Asia, one of the most interesting changes to the calendar is the arrival of the new Manila WTA 250.
The Philippines had already been confirmed as the host of a WTA 250 tournament in 2027, but the full WTA calendar announcement now officially identifies Manila as the new Tour destination.
It represents another important step for tennis in the country following the launch of the Philippine Women’s Open at WTA 125 level.
The addition also gives the Asian swing another destination as the Tour moves through the final months of the season.
What Changes on the WTA Tour in 2027?
Here are the main takeaways from the WTA’s announcement:
| 2027 WTA Change | Details |
|---|---|
| Total Tour events | 55 |
| Countries and territories | 26 |
| New destination | Manila, Philippines — WTA 250 |
| Equal prize money | All combined WTA 1000 tournaments |
| Top 50 WTA 500 commitment | Reduced from 6 to 4 |
| Base playing commitment | 14 WTA events + 4 Grand Slams |
| Ranking change | One eligible WTA 1000 result can be replaced by a better WTA 500/250 result |
| New initiative | Tournament Investment Fund |
| WTA Finals | Charlotte, North Carolina |
A Significant 2027 Season Ahead
The 2027 calendar is more than simply a list of tournaments.
It represents an important season for the WTA as the Tour reaches a major equal prize money milestone, expands into new markets and tests a more flexible scheduling system for its leading players.
The addition of Manila also strengthens the Tour’s presence in Asia, while Charlotte begins a new chapter as the home of the WTA Finals.
For players, the reduced mandatory WTA 500 commitment and new ranking flexibility could make it easier to manage a long season.
For tournaments, the new investment fund offers another mechanism for strengthening events and supporting the WTA’s long-term growth.
And for fans, the 2027 season will once again offer professional women’s tennis across the globe — from the opening weeks of the year all the way to the season-ending championships in North Carolina.
