ITF Press Release, December 8, 2022
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is continuing its drive for gender parity in tennis with today’s announcement of the Q1 (1 January to 31 March) calendar of events on the ITF World Tennis Tour.
The schedule offers 114 tournaments (up 15 on 2022) and a record $3.3m for professional female players, as well as a new W40 level of competition worth $40,000 in prize money. The creation of this category will increase the total number of tournaments in 2023 above the $15,000 and $25,000 entry category to 150 tournaments.
The ITF has also revealed today that total prize money on the 2023 ITF Women’s World Tennis Tour will increase by 10% to a record $16.5m.
There will be 16 W40 events in total in Q1 with host nations including Estonia, France, Portugal, Tunisia, Mexico and India. The number of W60 events will also be increased from 14 in 2022 to 18 in 2023. The $3.3m total prize money on offer in Q1 represents a 25% increase on the same period in 2022 and a 50% increase on 2019. Players will also benefit from the requirement to provide complimentary hospitality at W100 and W80 levels from 2023 onwards.
The move is part of the ITF’s ‘Advantage All’ commitment to develop and maintain tennis as an equal advantage sport for all.
The new Q1 calendar also features over 100 events for men at M15 and M25 level, with over $2m prize money on offer for the first time.
The ITF World Tennis Tour features 75% of the world’s professional tennis tournaments. It is a fundamental pillar of the professional game globally and acts as a pathway between the ITF Junior World Tennis Tour and the WTA (women) / ATP (men) Tour. The results of ITF tournaments are incorporated into a player’s WTA or ATP Ranking, which enables professionals to progress through to the elite levels of women’s or men’s professional tennis.
The ITF has been investing significantly to achieve gender parity in the professional events that act as the main artery for the top level of the game, according to Mary Pierce, a member of the ITF’s Board of Directors and Chair of the ITF Women’s Player Panel.
She said: “The ITF is committed to gender equality and inclusion in general at all levels of the game and on a global basis. We’ve put a lot of focus on this through our Advantage All commitment designed to develop tennis as an equal opportunities sport. That‘s been driving a lot of investment, decisions and action in the professional game, including the creation of the W40 category of tournaments announced today.
“We’ve also worked hard to structure a calendar of opportunities for men and women on the ITF World Tennis Tour that makes playing and touring easier to schedule and more cost-effective for our professional players, coaches and families..”
