WTA kicks off landmark season after record-breaking 2024

ST PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The WTA is set to deliver another thrilling season of tennis in 2025 with more tournaments, new and expanded events and groundbreaking off-court initiatives.

The 2025 Hologic WTA Tour spans 51 tournaments across 26 countries and regions (not including WTA 125s), starting this month with five events in Australia and New Zealand prior to the Australian Open. The season reaches its pinnacle in November with the second edition of the WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF, where the world’s best singles players and doubles teams battle to be crowned as year-end champions.

Other 2025 highlights will include:

• Continued growth in prize money for the WTA’s 1600 players, building on the new record set in 2024 of $221 million, an increase of $42 million versus 2023.
• Two WTA 1000 events, The National Bank Open presented by Rogers (Montreal) and the Cincinnati Open, expanding to become 12-day tournaments to provide an even better showcase for the top athletes in professional tennis.
• An expanded grass-court schedule in the UK including a new venue in London, Queen’s Club, for a WTA 500 in June, followed by WTA 250s in Nottingham and Eastbourne.
• Continued development of WTA 125s, including an expanded calendar to be announced, with each tournament live streamed on WTA Unlocked.

The new season continues the gripping drama served by the WTA in 2024, which brought fans together in large numbers. Total attendance increased by 15% at Hologic WTA Tour events during the year to surpass 3.5 million in total. And, for the second year in a row, the WTA achieved a global audience of more than 1 billion on television and streaming platforms.

The size of the live and broadcast audience is matched by the WTA’s growing impact on social media. The top 20 most followed WTA players now reach a combined total of 58.5 million followers, an increase of 29% over the last 12 months. In addition, there are 6.4 million followers of official WTA social channels as of the end of December, up 25% since the previous year.

Confirming their status among the world’s top athletes, 11 of the world’s 20 highest-earning female athletes are WTA players according to recent analysis by Forbes, which declared: “Women’s sports are riding a wave of momentum.” The prominence of women’s tennis reflects the record prize money of $221 million earned in 2024, including the $4.8m awarded to the 2024 WTA Finals Riyadh champion, Coco Gauff, the biggest prize won ever in female sport.

The WTA will continue to champion women’s health and empowerment in 2025, advancing the philanthropic work of the WTA Foundation in support of its mission to empower girls and women in communities around the world to live fully through initiatives promoting equality, education, leadership and health & wellness. During 2025, the WTA Foundation will continue working to transform women’s health and nutrition globally through its Women Change the Game campaign with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Hologic. The campaign’s Global Women’s Health Fund mobilizes resources for life-saving women’s health and nutrition products and services that are readily available in high-income countries but are difficult to access or altogether unavailable in low-and middle-income countries.

In addition, leading into the second edition of the WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF, the WTA Foundation will further expand its community impact in Saudi Arabia, focusing on three pillars: community tennis, youth engagement, and women’s health.

Portia Archer, CEO of the WTA, said:

“The Hologic WTA Tour delivers incredible entertainment, and fans can expect the 2025 season to serve even more fierce competition, intense rivalries, captivating performances and unforgettable moments. We are incredibly proud to have the largest global reach in women’s sport, with events in 26 countries and regions and a worldwide audience of more than one billion.

“As the original trailblazer in women’s sport, our ambitions go well beyond the court. We will continue to champion our incredible athletes and create real change through our programmes and commitment to advocate for women’s health and empowerment around the world.”

Aryna Sabalenka, who starts the 2025 season as PIF WTA World No.1, added:

“2024 was a huge year for me, so it’s exciting to be back out on court for another WTA season. It feels like women’s tennis is getting stronger every year. There are so many unbelievable players with big personalities and every tournament brings a different challenge. I know that all the WTA players appreciate the amazing support that we get from fans around the world, and we can’t wait to get started and show them more of women’s tennis at its very best.”