WTA 1000 refers to a tier of professional tennis tournaments in women’s tennis. The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has positioned these tournaments high in the strata of professional tennis tournaments, such that they are better compared to WTA 500 events.
Between 1990 to 2008, the tournaments that were categorised as Tier I tournaments were divided as WTA Premier Mandatory and WTA Premier 5 in 2009. In 2021, these were merged as WTA 1000 events.
The WTA 1000 events are considered to be extremely competitive, consisting of the world’s best female tennis players in a knockout draw of both singles and doubles. The singles draw can be as large to house 96 players, whereas a doubles main draw does not exceed 32 pairs. A typical WTA 1000 event will have a Round of 64, Round of 32, Round of 16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals and a Final. The winner is awarded with 1000 points whereas the runner-up gets 650 points.
No more than ten WTA 1000 events are held in a calendar year. As of 2024, the ten WTA 1000 events are held in Doha, Dubai, Indian Wells, Miami, Rome, Madrid, Montreal/Toronto, Cincinnati, Wuhan, and Beijing. The tournaments in Madrid and Rome are the only ones to be played on clay courts, whereas the remaining are played on hard courts.
The prize money for WTA 1000 events as of 2024 is $1 million. Serena Williams’ tally of 23 WTA 1000 titles is the most for any player in the singles category. In doubles, this record is held by Martina Hingis who has won 26 WTA 1000 titles. Notably, Hingis also has the second highest WTA 1000 singles titles, with 17 to her name. The Swiss Miss has achieved the Double Crown on four instances in WTA 1000 where she won both the singles and doubles competition in the same event.
