Saudi Arabia will host the women's tennis WTA Finals for the next three years

The Hologic Women’s Tennis Association announced on Thursday that the next three editions of its season-ending WTA Finals, which features the Top 8 singles players and doubles teams in the WTA Finals Race rankings, will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The announcement ends months of speculation as to a host site for the WTA Finals, which has changed locations every year since 2019, and continues the trend of Saudi Arabian investment in tennis.

"Bringing the WTA Finals to Riyadh is an exciting new opportunity for us and a positive step for the long-term growth of women’s tennis as a global and inclusive sport,” said WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon. “We’ve been impressed by the commitment shown by the Saudi Tennis Federation to grow the sport at all levels and we have no doubt that players and fans can look forward to a world-class event in Riyadh as the finale to the 2024, 2025 and 2026 seasons."

According to the press release, “The agreement with the Saudi Tennis Federation will offer record prize money of $15.25 million at the WTA Finals in 2024 with further increases in 2025 and 2026. The partnership will also support broader investment in the future development and growth of women’s tennis, including the WTA’s plans to grow the global fanbase for women’s tennis through increased investment in marketing, digital and fan engagement.”

Saudi Arabia was the rumored host of the 2023 WTA Finals, which ultimately landed in Cancun, Mexico, before concerns surrounding the country’s track record of human rights abuses seemingly scuttled the deal.

The Saudi Tennis Federation, led by Arij Mutabagani, the first female president of a Saudi Arabian sports federation, is optimistic that the move will be the start of a new chapter for the country on a global stage, having already began investing in sports like golf and F1.

"Hosting the WTA Finals is absolutely huge for the future of tennis in Saudi Arabia and growing sport in general, especially amongst our young girls,” she wrote in the WTA’s press release. “And that’s entirely our focus, to inspire future generations of players and celebrate women’s tennis. We want to help them to believe that they too belong on centre court, as seeing is believing. Through the tournament we have the potential to power the dreams of millions of young people who are looking to a bright future and a world of new opportunities."

The Saudi Tennis Federation hosted the country’s first official professional tennis tournament in November 2023 with the Next Gen ATP Finals taking place in Jeddah, while there have been a number of exhibition tournaments and matches in recent years including the Diriyah Tennis Cup in 2019 and 2022, and the Riyadh Season Tennis Cup 2023 featuring the WTA World No.2 and No.6, Aryna Sabalenka and Ons Jabeur.

The 2024 WTA Finals will take place from November 2-9.