Welcome to the definitive guide to the WTA Tour for beginners and experts alike! Here we will explain everything about this professional women's tennis circuit and how to follow it so you don't miss a single match. We will review the key dates of important tournaments, such as the Grand Slams, and explain how the WTA rankings work. We will also tell you which platforms are broadcasting this circuit in the United Kingdom in 2026. Are you ready?
What is the WTA Tour?
The WTA Tour is the highest level of professional women's tennis, making it more important than the ITF and ATP 125 tournaments, which are lower categories. It was founded in 1973 by legendary tennis player Billie Jean King and is organised annually by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Basically, it is the counterpart to the ATP Tour in men's tennis, to give you a better idea.
It has an annual calendar of tournaments held around the world, where the best tennis players in the world compete for ranking points and prize money. These tournaments are divided by category, prestige and importance in the WTA rankings, and include the popular Grand Slams that you have probably heard of. Now we will explain what they are and what they consist of. Let's continue!
Understanding the structure of WTA tournaments
The WTA Tour consists of several tournaments held throughout the year around the world, with different prize money and WTA ranking points. Only the best players can qualify for these tournaments. How? Through their position in the WTA rankings, their performance in 'qualifiers' and 'Wild Cards', which are direct invitations that do not take into account a player's position in the WTA rankings. Below, we will explain what WTA Tour tournaments exist and how important they are within this professional women's tennis circuit:
🏆 Grand Slams: The Four Majors
Although the Grand Slams are not organised by the WTA, but by the national tennis federations together with the ITF, they are part of the WTA Tour. They are the most prestigious and award the most ranking points (2,000 points for the winner). Let's take a quick look:
| Grand Slam | Foundation | Date | Surface | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | 1905 | January – February | Hard | Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia |
| Roland Garros | 1891 | May – June | Clay | Stade Roland Garros, Paris, France |
| Wimbledon | 1877 | June – July | Grass | All England Club, Wimbledon, London, England |
| US Open | 1881 | August – September | Hard | USTA Billie Jean King, New York, United States |
🏆 WTA 1000 Tournaments
The 2026 WTA 1000 tournaments are the most difficult and important of the season, after the Grand Slams. There are 10 in total throughout the year, but the most prestigious in the world of professional women's tennis are Indian Wells, Miami Open, Madrid Open, China Open (Beijing) and Internazionali d'Italia (Rome). These award 1,000 ranking points to the winner.
🏆 WTA 500 tournaments
WTA 500 tournaments award 500 ranking points to the winner and are characterised by more compact draws and a very high level of intensity. Several players from the Top 10 of the WTA rankings compete in these tournaments, usually 3 to 6 players, as well as many from the Top 50. Among the most popular tournaments on this circuit are the WTA 500 in Stuttgart, Tokyo, Charleston, Berlin and Abu Dhabi.
🏆 WTA 250 Tournaments
These tournaments represent a great opportunity for mid-level players to move up in the rankings, although at least one star from the Top 10 or Top 20 usually participates. A total of 22 are held throughout the year, with those in Auckland, Bogotá, Seoul and Sicily being some of the most important. As their name suggests, they award 250 ranking points.
🏆 WTA Finals: End-of-season championship
The WTA Finals is the tournament that ends the season, where the top 8 singles players and doubles teams in the world according to the WTA rankings compete. The competition format consists of a group stage (round robin, all against all) and knockout stages (semi-finals and final). This year it will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in November. The undefeated winners receive 1,500 ranking points and more than £5 million in prize money.
WTA Tour 2026 Calendar: Key Dates and Highlights
The 2026 WTA Tour season is packed with intense match-ups and major tournaments around the world. There are many, but in this section we will help you keep track of the most prestigious events of the year so you don't miss a thing, starting with the Australian Open and ending with the 2026 WTA Finals Grand Final, which will bring the season to a spectacular close.
Australian Tour (January)
The fourth edition of the United Cup mixed tournament kicks off in Australia on hard court as the first of the year. At the same time, the Brisbane International (WTA 500) is held. Then the Adelaide International Tournament, a WTA 500 event, begins, one of the tournaments that serves as a prelude to the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year.
Spring season on hard courts (February - March)
The season continues in the Middle East with several important hard court tournaments, including the WTA 1000 in Dubai and Doha, the two most anticipated tournaments in February. It then moves to the United States in March to continue with Indian Wells and Miami, both WTA 1000 tournaments known as the "Sunshine Double".
European clay court season (April - May)
This part of the season is dominated by clay court tournaments, with the WTA 500 tournaments in Austria and Germany being the most important, along with the WTA 1000 tournaments in Madrid and Rome, which take place before the WTA 500 in Strasbourg. This segment ends with the second Grand Slam of the year, the prestigious Roland Garros in Paris, France.
Grass season (June - July)
Grass courts predominate throughout this leg of the tour, with the most important tournament being the Wimbledon Grand Slam, the third of the year, which takes place from late June to mid-July. Prior to this prestigious tournament, important events such as the WTA 500 tournaments in Great Britain and Germany are held.
North American hard court tour (July - September)
Hard courts return at this stage of the 2026 WTA Tour. At this point, the WTA 1000 tournaments in Montreal (Canada) and Cincinnati (United States) pave the way for the US Open, the last Grand Slam of the season, which will take place between late August and early September in New York, United States.
Autumn season and WTA Finals (September - November)
We now travel to Asia, where the WTA 1000 tournaments in Beijing and Wuhan will be played, both scheduled for October. Then, between 7 November and 14 November, the WTA Finals will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a tournament in which the top eight singles and doubles players of the season will compete. This is where the stars who have earned the most points in the WTA rankings throughout the year will gather.
How do the WTA rankings work?
The WTA rankings determine which players will participate in each tournament through direct entry and are very important in determining the seeds for each draw.
To be included in this ranking, players must have participated in three WTA Tour or ITF World Tennis Tour tournaments and have earned a minimum number of points in any of them.
On the other hand, the WTA rankings only take into account the 18 best results from the WTA Tour over the last 52 weeks, which is how long the points last. Players must defend and maintain the same number of points they achieved the previous year or earn more points the following season in order to avoid dropping in the rankings.
The best players on the WTA Tour
The WTA Tour 2026 is led by Aryana Sabalenka, winner of last year's US Open, where she defended her title. Iga Swiatek is second in the rankings, winner of Wimbledon and other tournaments such as the WTA 1000 in Cincinnati and WTA 500 in Seoul. These two players are the top favourites to win key tournaments on the 2026 WTA Tour.
Then we have emerging players such as Canada's Victoria Mboko, who was outside the top 300 at the beginning of 2025 and managed to finish 18th in the rankings. Janice Tjen was another player who climbed the rankings and finished in the top 60. Both are expected to have a stellar performance on the 2026 WTA Tour.
How to watch the WTA Tour: TV and streaming
In the United Kingdom and European countries such as Germany, Italy, Ireland and Switzerland, the main platform for watching the 2026 WTA Tour is Sky Sport, while in the United States it is Tennis Channel.
DAZN and WTA TV also stream the WTA Tour in countries such as Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Malta, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Georgia, Bulgaria and the Netherlands. In South America, on the other hand, ESPN owns the broadcasting rights to the WTA Tour in most countries, along with Rush Sports.
Finally, in Canada, TSN, TVA Sports, DAZN, and WTA TV cover the tour's matches throughout the year. You just need to subscribe to these operators' TV and streaming services to watch the matches live and on demand.
The future of women's tennis
WTA women's tennis continues to grow enormously in popularity in the United Kingdom and the rest of the world, where it is reaching more and more people through television channels and streaming platforms that make it more accessible to everyone. We therefore expect greater media impact from each tournament and larger prize money for each of them in the near future.
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Jacob Peter iGaming Content Writer
With years of expertise in sports betting and iGaming, he delivers detailed reviews, strategic guides, and professional analysis that make the betting market easier to understand. His strong knowledge of sportsbooks and betting strategies positions him as a reliable reference for players who want to make smarter decisions.
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