After Riyadh and a Rushed Stop in Indian Wells, the WTA Finals Settle in Charlotte

The WTA Finals have had a rough few years looking for a home. The tour left Riyadh a year early in July and moved this November's event to Indian Wells on short notice. On Wednesday it announced where the Finals go next: Charlotte, North Carolina, for 2027 through 2029.

The tournament will be at the Spectrum Center, the Hornets' arena, which holds about 19,000 and has hosted a tennis exhibition the last two years. The WTA is also moving its headquarters to Charlotte from St. Petersburg, Florida.

Money was part of it

Chair Valerie Camillo didn't dodge the financial reports. The Telegraph has said the WTA is heading for $23 million in operating losses this year, and Camillo said leaving Riyadh early was expensive and shaped the choice of the next host. She called 2026 a year of transition and said the tour sees a clear path to steady finances from 2027.

The Charlotte deal came together in under six months and works differently from past ones. Instead of licensing the event to a promoter, the WTA will run it and control both the revenue and the costs. The event shrinks from eight days to five to fit around the Hornets' schedule, with players consulted before it's final.

Camillo wants it to become the Super Bowl of women's sports, with a fan fest near the arena, and said that's part of why the headquarters is moving too. Charlotte also gets a path to a 500-level tournament, though the city would need to build a proper venue. The Saudi deal had drawn criticism from the start over the country's human rights record.