By Rory Carroll
Sept 16 (Reuters) – The Women’s Tennis Association will stage its season-ending WTA Finals in Charlotte, North Carolina, for at least three years from 2027, Chair Valerie Camillo said, as the tour seeks to take greater control of its flagship event amid concerns over its finances.
The Finals, featuring the season’s top eight singles players and doubles teams, will be played at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center, with a fan festival planned at the nearby convention center.
Camillo said the WTA would operate the event itself rather than rely on the type of outside-promoter arrangement used in the past, describing the new structure as a public-private partnership involving the city, county, state and local corporate community.
“The WTA will be taking greater ownership and control of the event and investing alongside our partners,” Camillo told reporters this week, saying the tour wanted to build the Finals into the “Super Bowl of women’s sports.”
Financial details of Charlotte’s package were not disclosed ahead of a planned announcement by local partners. Camillo said it represented a “meaningful investment” that gave the WTA confidence to commit to the city.
The move follows the WTA’s decision to relocate the November 2026 Finals to Indian Wells, California, after ending an agreement under which Riyadh had hosted the event with the backing of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
The Telegraph reported last week that internal WTA projections showed the tour could run out of cash next year and move into debt by autumn 2027 if its spending pattern continued. The report said the WTA expected operating losses of $23 million in 2026 and cited the loss of revenue associated with the Saudi Finals deal as a major contributor.
TRANSITIONAL YEAR FOR WTA
Camillo said 2026 was a transitional year and that the tour was tightening spending while absorbing the unexpected cost of moving the Finals to Indian Wells.
She said the WTA had a “clear path” to consistent and sustainable financial performance from 2027, backed by revenue and audience growth.
Asked whether remaining in Riyadh for a third year would have been financially easier, Camillo said relocating the event to Indian Wells was a strategic decision that would help lay the groundwork for the Charlotte plan.
The WTA has not yet set prize money for the 2027 Finals. Camillo said equal prize money remained an important goal, but added that the tour was considering alternatives including a profit-sharing model with players.
“We want this event to be built together with the players,” she said. “Why stop at equal prize money?”
Charlotte Sports Foundation Chief Executive Will Pitts said the city hoped the Finals could eventually help establish a longer-term WTA 500 tournament, although he said that would require construction of a suitable first-class tennis facility.
The WTA also plans to establish a greater operational presence in Charlotte as it builds the event, Camillo said.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll; Editing by Neil Fullick)
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