The WTA Finals has a new home.
The WTA announced Wednesday that Charlotte, North Carolina, will host its season-ending championship from 2027 through 2029, giving the tour a home for its biggest event months after it announced the finals would leave Saudi Arabia a year earlier than planned.
The WTA Finals will be played at Spectrum Center, home of the NBA’s Hornets, and will leverage the Charlotte Convention Center a few blocks away for ancillary programming. The WTA will also move its global headquarters from St. Petersburg, Florida, to Charlotte as part of the deal.
The announcement comes as the WTA is increasingly turning its attention toward the U.S. market. The tour’s decision to end its three-year agreement with Saudi Arabia prematurely resulted in the finals moving to Indian Wells this year from Nov. 8-15.
The WTA had originally signed a three-year deal to hold the championship in Riyadh beginning in 2024. The tournament suffered from poor attendance in Saudi Arabia, and the tour ended the agreement this year following the onset of the U.S.–Iran war in the Middle East.
The tournament had shifted among international markets, including Singapore, China, Turkey, Qatar, and Mexico, for much of the past two decades. Prior to Indian Wells this year, it was last held in the U.S. in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2022, and before that, in Los Angeles from 2002–2005.
Money Troubles
The timing of the announcement is also notable given the WTA’s reported dire financial situation.
The tour could run out of money by next year if its current losses continue, according to a report from The Telegraph last week. The WTA projected $23 million in operational losses for 2026 and only $15 million in cash at the end of the year, according to figures presented during meetings in New York. The early termination of the deal with Saudi Arabia was a major reason for the cash deficit.
The tour is also nearing the end of its deal with private-equity firm CVC, which has supplied $30 million in annual payments since 2023.
The WTA Finals announcement Wednesday indicated that the tour partnered with the Charlotte Sports Foundation to bring the event to the city. The foundation’s separate announcement said that the deal includes financial support from the North Carolina Special Events Fund, the City of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, and the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, along with Charlotte’s corporate community.
There is also a path for Charlotte to host a WTA 500 event after the finals deal expires in 2029. That would be contingent on the development of a new tennis-specific facility and additional financial support.
“The WTA Finals represents everything that makes women’s tennis extraordinary: the world’s best athletes, competing at the highest level, on a stage worthy of what they have accomplished,” WTA Chair Valerie Camillo said in a statement. “In Charlotte, we found more than a host city. We found partners who share that ambition and a place where we can build a true home for the Finals and for the WTA.”
The city has been attached to the WTA in recent years, as it was a possible relocation site for the Cincinnati Open. A $400 million facility would have been built if the combined 1000 event were moved to Charlotte. The tournament ultimately chose to remain in Ohio, though the tournament’s owner, Beemok Capital, is based in Charleston, SC and also hosts the Charleston Open.
