The WTA have revealed there will be a significant drop in prize money from last year’s WTA Finals to the 2026 edition in Indian Wells.
In 2025, Elena Rybakina went undefeated as she won the title in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but this year, the season-ending tournament has moved away from the Middle East.
Over the summer, it was announced that Indian Wells would host the season finale, which includes world No 1 Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka, French Open champion Mirra Andreeva, and Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova, among others.
However, that quartet, alongside Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Elina Svitolina, and Karolina Muchova, will head home with a smaller purse this time out.
According to the WTA‘s website, the total prize pot is $10million (£7.42m), with $8m (£5.9m) of that going to singles, and $2m (£1.48m) to doubles. An undefeated singles champion will pocket $3.37m (£2.5m), including participation fees, and the doubles winners will earn $725,000 (£538,480) if they come out on top in all of their matches.
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That is a $5.5m (£4m) drop from the $15.5m (£11.5m) that was on offer last year, with Rybakina earning the second-biggest payday in WTA history with $5.23m (£3.8m).
When the tournament was in Saudi Arabia, tournament organisers were able to offer record-breaking prize pots but that appears not to be the case for the upcoming event in California.
Each singles player will earn $220,000 (£163,379) for merely participating at the event and will rake in $230,000 (£170,877) for a round robin victory.
That jumps to $820,000 (£609,214) for a semi-final win and $1.64m (£1.21m) for claiming the title. Incidentally, the alternate players are world No 10 Marta Kostyuk and world No 11 Diana Shnaider.
Regarding ranking points, singles players get 200 points for a round robin win, another 400 for a semi-final triumph, and an extra 500 for lifting the title. An undefeated week will secure the victor 1,500 ranking points. The full breakdown follows below.
In Group 1, defending champion Rybakina, who won the US Open and Australian Open this year, will take on Gauff, Pegula and Noskova, with their round robin matches taking place on Sunday, 10 November, and 12 November.
In Group 2, last year’s beaten finalist Sabalenka will lock horns with Andreeva, Svitolina, and Muchova, with those games taking place on 9 November, 11 November, and 13 November. The semi-finals and final will take place on 14 and 15 November, respectively.
Despite being ninth in the world, Iga Swiatek has chosen not to be an alternate, with the Pole ending her season last month due to a left thigh injury.
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