WTA 500

The WTA 500 tour level, formerly known as the WTA Premier tour level, is the fourth-most prestigious tier of women’s professional tennis, ranked below the Grand Slams, WTA Finals, and WTA 1000 tour level. WTA 500 events are regularly enjoyed by live crowds numbering the thousands, as well as by many more viewers on televisions around the world, and the tournament titles are highly coveted by female players.

📜 WTA 500 History

The WTA 500 tier was founded in 1990 and was originally known as WTA Tier II. In 2009 its name was changed to the WTA Premier tour level, before another rebranding in 2021 saw the category name changed again, this time to the WTA 500. The WTA 500 is comprised of at least 10 tournaments each year, with some of the events dating as far back as the late 19th century. In 2023, WTA 500 tournaments were held in countries including Australia, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Lindsay Davenport and Steffi Graf currently hold the record for the most career WTA 500 titles won, with 26 each.

💯 WTA 500 Format & Scoring

The WTA 500 tour level is comprised of at least 10 events each season, with annual events in the tour category including tournaments such as the Bett1Open (German Open), the Brisbane International, the Charleston Open, the Eastbourne International, the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart Open), and the Pan Pacific Open. Most WTA 500 events are played outside, with the majority staged on hard courts, though the tour level also includes clay and grass court tournaments, as well as indoor hard court events.

Typically, WTA 500 are divided relatively evenly across the annual calendar; events such as the Brisbane International may be played in January, whilst the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo is usually held in September. WTA 500 events are generally staged across 7-10 days; singles draws at the events take place across 5 or 6 rounds, and doubles draws across 4 or 5.

The winners of WTA 500 tournaments are rewarded with large amounts of prize money – prize pots at these events typically total over USD $500,000 – and 470 WTA ranking points.