Players at the new WTA 500 at the Queen’s Club will battle it out for their share of a record prize purse.
Players at the brand new WTA 500 event at London’s Queen’s Club will be battling it out for a record prize purse of £1m ($1.415m) next week. The women’s tennis tour is returning to the capital for the first time in more than 50 years, with Emma Raducanu, Madison Keys and Katie Boulter set to compete.
Ahead of the tournament, the LTA has confirmed an uplift in women’s prize money at Queen’s, which also hosts an ATP 500 event in the following week, and at the joint 250-point event in Eastbourne. The goal is to reach equal prize pay as soon as possible, and no later than 2029.
The women’s edition of the HSBC Championships at Queen’s will become the highest-paying WTA 500 tournament of its draw size this year.
With a total of £287k ($389k) also up for grabs in Eastbourne, it will be the highest-paying WTA 250 of the season.
There is still a way to go before both events can match the cash on offer at the equivalent
According to the ATP website, those competing at Queen’s will share a total prize purse of £2.12m (€2.52m). Meanwhile, those at the ATP 250 on the South Coast are playing for a total of £637k (€757k).
But the LTA, the governing body for tennis in Britain, is committed to achieving its goal of prize money parity. While the tours set their own minimum figures, the LTA has chosen to invest in uplifting the funds on offer at their joint ATP-WTA events