WTA Finals moves to Indian Wells after Saudi deal ended early

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) is ending its partnership with Saudi Arabia to host the season-ending Finals a year early, with the tournament to move to Indian Wells in California.

The tournament has been held in Riyadh for the past two years after the WTA signed a three-year agreement with the Saudi Tennis Federation (STF) in April 2024, a deal that included record prize money.

But the final year of the agreement has been terminated by mutual consent after the STF accepted the WTA’s request to stage this year’s finals elsewhere.

BBC Sport understands that the ongoing tension between Iran and the United States has made planning for the Finals more challenging, and is one reason why the contract has ended one year early.

The event, featuring the top eight singles players and doubles teams of the year, will now take place in Indian Wells from 8-15 November.

Valerie Camillo, chair of the WTA, said this year’s event at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden allows the organisation to “continue building one of the premier championships in global sport”.

“The Indian Wells Tennis Garden provides an exceptional stage for the WTA Finals,” Camillo added.

“From its world-class facilities and passionate fan base to its proven ability to deliver premier tennis events, the venue offers everything needed to showcase the very best of women’s tennis.”

Indian Wells already hosts WTA events at the BNP Paribas Open in March.

When the WTA decided to take the Finals to Saudi Arabia in 2024, the decision was met with significant backlash.

Saudi Arabia had been accused of using events to ‘sportswash’ its reputation amid accusations of violating human rights and restricting women’s lives and freedom of speech.

However, WTA chief executive Steve Simon defended the decision, saying that by choosing Riyadh, women’s tennis would be “supporting significant change being made within the region”.

“The WTA has been breaking down barriers for more than 50 years,” Simon told BBC Sport.

“We want to create more opportunities for women to play tennis at the elite level, and I think by doing this, we believe that we can inspire more women and girls to get involved with the sport.

“We are a global sport. The WTA now has all of these events and people from around the world that do reflect different cultures and systems.”

Saudi Arabia won the rights to host the event the WTA assessed “multiple bids from different regions” and evaluated potential hosts on three criteria, including support for the organisation’s ambition to achieve equal prize money for women.