The WTA Tour says all combined WTA 1000 events will award equal prize money to women and men beginning in 2027, including the Italian Open in Rome. The Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open remain the combined 1000 events without equal prize money. A change is coming—but not until the tour’s chosen start date.
Players’ demands on the calendar also shaped the announcement. “As players, we’re on the road most of the year, so having more flexibility in our schedules and commitments makes a real difference,” said third-ranked Jessica Pegula, who chairs the tour architecture council working group behind the changes. “The 2027 changes give us more ability to build our seasons around our own goals — competitively and personally.”
Parity, delayed
The Rome clay-court event will reach equal prize money nearly six decades after Billie Jean King won $600 for the 1970 Italian Open title while Ilie Nastase received $3,500 for winning the men’s tournament that year. This year, men’s total prize money in Rome was $9.6 million and women’s was $8.3 million.
Italian Open organizers pledged in 2023 to provide equal prize money starting in 2025. They didn’t fulfill that commitment. Now the WTA’s announcement sets 2027 as the date for parity across all combined WTA 1000 tournaments, leaving the decision with the tour and tournament institutions rather than making the organizers’ earlier promise binding.
Indian Wells, California; Miami; Madrid; and Beijing already offered equal prize money, as did all four Grand Slam tournaments. The WTA called the new commitment a “major milestone.” WTA chair Valerie Camillo said: “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 calendar is also a power structure
For 2027, the number of annual WTA 500-level tournaments required of players ranked in the top 50 will drop from six to four. Their total base playing commitment will be 14 WTA tournaments plus the four Grand Slams. Camillo said the tour had “listened to player feedback on the demands of the calendar and responded with a meaningful reduction in commitments.”
The changes follow the WTA’s selection of Charlotte, North Carolina, to host the WTA Finals, its flagship event, for the next three years in an NBA arena. Pegula chaired the tour architecture council, which provided the working group behind the announcements. The source describes player feedback and an institutional working group; it doesn’t describe a separate grassroots or mutual-aid response.
The WTA also announced an expanded WTA 250-level tournament in Manila, Philippines, for 2027, amid interest in home player Alex Eala, who is ranked 18th. The Philippines hosted a WTA 125-level tournament in January 2026.
A pilot, not a permanent guarantee
The tour said the updates “will be implemented as a one-year pilot” for 2027. It will “evaluate the impact of the changes across the tour to inform decisions for 2028 and beyond.” The longer-term shape of the policy remains with the WTA after the trial year. The tour is loosening some schedule requirements and setting a date for equal prize money, while retaining the power to assess what comes next.