Charlotte To Host WTA Finals From 2027

Elena Rybakina won the 2025 WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia

The American city of Charlotte in North Carolina has been chosen as the new home of the season-ending WTA Finals.

The WTA says it wants to create the “Super Bowl of women’s sports” and is hoping the three-year deal will bring more stability to an event that has had six hosts in seven years.

A planned 10-year stay in Shenzhen ended after just one year, with Guadalajara, Fort Worth, Cancun and Riyadh all taking turns since. Crowds have often been disappointing.

“The WTA has always owned the WTA Finals, but now we are going to operate it, too,” said WTA chair Valerie Camillo.

“We are not going to do everything ourselves, but we are taking control of this event, of the creation of the revenue and the controlling of the expenses. And that allows us to control our own destiny.”

This year’s Finals will be held in Indian Wells, California, before the tournament moves to Charlotte from 2027.

Prize money is yet to be announced, but the pot for this year’s Finals will be $10m (£7.4m) – which is $5.5m (£4.1m) less than the sum put up by Saudi Arabia last year.

“2026 is a year of transition for the WTA,” Camillo said.

“We are doing the normal belt tightening you would expect of any business while also absorbing the unexpected cost of relocating the WTA Finals to Indian Wells.

“What is most important to know is that we have a clear path to deliver consistent, sustainable financial performance in 2027 and beyond, supported by strong revenue and audience growth.”

Riyadh had been due to stage the Finals for a third time in November, but the arrangement finished one year early.

This was partly because of the instability caused by the conflict between the United States and Iran, but also reflected the waning interest of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).

The country’s sovereign wealth fund has recently stopped bankrolling LIV Golf, while the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters was another casualty earlier this year.

The Finals, which involve the best eight singles players and doubles teams of the year, will be staged at the Spectrum Centre where the Charlotte Hornets play their home NBA games.

The basketball season will be in full swing next November and, because of the frequency of home games, the Finals will be reduced from eight days to five, which is likely to affect revenue.

Camillo says the WTA has already started exploring alternative formats with the players, but if the round-robin element of the tournament survives, the finalists would need to play every day.

The WTA will also move its global headquarters from St Petersburg in Florida to Charlotte as part of the agreement.

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