Charlotte to host WTA Finals from 2027

The WTA has chosen Charlotte, North Carolina, to host the season-ending WTA Finals from 2027 under a three-year agreement. The governing body said the move is intended to provide greater stability for an event that has had six different hosts in seven years.

Elena Rybakina won the 2025 WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia. A planned 10-year stay in Shenzhen ended after just one year, with Guadalajara, Fort Worth, Cancun and Riyadh subsequently staging the tournament. Organisers have frequently cited disappointing crowd figures at recent editions.

"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."

Prize money for the Charlotte event is yet to be announced; 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."

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 said 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.

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 WTA will also move its global headquarters from St Petersburg in Florida to Charlotte as part of the agreement. This year's Finals will be held in Indian Wells, California, before the tournament moves to Charlotte from 2027.