WTA confirms 'major milestone' with equal prize money at combined events

Men and women will receive equal prize money at all combined 1,000 events - the highest level of competition outside of the Grand Slams - from next year, the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) has announced.

Events at Indian Wells, California, Miami, Madrid and Beijing already met that commitment, as well as all four Grand Slams.

However, the Italian Open, Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open will now also fall into line to meet a long-standing aim of the WTA, at events where men and women both feature.

In 2023, Italian Open organisers had vowed to have equal prize money from 2025 but did not follow through on that pledge.

The total men's prize money this year in Rome was £7.3m while the women received £6.3m.

"Achieving equal prize money across all combined WTA 1,000 tournaments is a major milestone for tennis," said WTA chair Valerie Camillo.

"It demonstrates the WTA's continued commitment to leading the sports industry in delivering our athletes competitive and financial equality and is a testament to the enduring nature of the founding vision of the WTA."

The WTA has also announced adjustments to the calendar to give players greater flexibility.

Those alterations include a reduction - from six to four - in the number of WTA 500-level tournaments players ranked inside the top 50 in the world are mandated to play.

It will also allow players to replace one eligible WTA 1,000 tournament result with a stronger WTA 500 or 250 result on their ranking.

"We have listened to player feedback on the demands of the calendar, and responded with a meaningful reduction in commitments," said Camillo.

American world number three Jessica Pegula said: "The 2027 changes give us more ability to build our seasons around our own goals - competitively and personally.

"That's an impactful step forward for players."