Overview
The women's professional circuit, founded on Billie Jean King's insistence on equal standing — and now on equal prize money at every combined event.
The WTA Tour is the worldwide circuit for women's professional tennis. Events run from WTA 1000 down through 500 and 250 levels, alongside the four Grand Slams, and the season ends with the WTA Finals for the top eight players.
The WTA was founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King and eight other players who had signed one-dollar contracts with World Tennis magazine the previous year rather than accept prize money a fraction of the men's. The US Open became the first major to pay equally that same year; the last, Wimbledon, followed in 2007.
Season Format
Recent Champions
Most recent first. Seasons still in progress are marked.
History
Women's professional tennis began with the Original Nine, who broke from the established tour in 1970 to play a circuit organised by Gladys Heldman. The WTA followed in 1973, and Billie Jean King's win over Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes that September gave it a public profile no amount of lobbying could have.
Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert met 80 times; Steffi Graf won the calendar Grand Slam and Olympic gold in 1988; Serena Williams won 23 major titles across 24 years. Equal prize money at all four majors was achieved in 2007, and the WTA announced in 2023 a plan to reach pay equity at its combined 1000 and 500 events by 2027.
The tour suspended all events in China in 2021 over the treatment of Peng Shuai — the only occasion a major sports body has withdrawn from the Chinese market on a human rights question — and returned in 2023, a decision that drew criticism.
Governance
The WTA is governed jointly by players and tournaments, with a board drawn from both. The Grand Slams and the Billie Jean King Cup sit outside its jurisdiction.