Ask a casual fan to name a women’s tennis event and they’ll reach for Wimbledon or the US Open. Ask a WTA regular, and the conversation gets a lot longer.
The WTA 1000 Series
Sitting just below Grand Slam level, WTA 1000 events carry the heaviest ranking points outside the majors and attract nearly every top player. Indian Wells and Miami open the American hard-court swing, Madrid and Rome test players on clay before the French Open, and the Canadian Open and Cincinnati form the final tune-up before the US Open. Wuhan and Beijing close the Asian swing in the autumn.
- WTA 1000 draws are typically 96 players, roughly double the size of a 500-level event
- Points earned here can be the difference between a top-eight WTA Finals berth and missing out entirely
- Several 1000 events, like Madrid and Rome, run combined with the men’s ATP Tour for one of the sport’s biggest fortnights
Team Competition: The Billie Jean King Cup
Tennis’ answer to football’s international calendar, the Billie Jean King Cup is the largest annual team competition in women’s sport, with more than 100 nations taking part in qualifying rounds before the finals stage. It’s one of the rare events where fans see their country’s top singles and doubles players competing together rather than individually.
The Season Finale
The WTA Finals cap the year, bringing together the top eight singles players and doubles teams to fight for the biggest non-Slam prize money on the calendar. Qualification is a season-long grind, and the round-robin format means even the best players can be eliminated by a single off day.
Together, these events form the backbone of a season that runs almost year-round. If you’re tracking which athletes are peaking across sports right now, our piece on rising stars in women’s athletics looks at a similar story playing out on the track, while our guide to the most popular women’s sporting events shows how tennis stacks up against other codes for fan interest.