WTA 250, 500, 1000 Explained

WTA 250, 500 and 1000 events are the three regular tiers of the women's tour. They sit below the four Grand Slams and the season-ending WTA Finals, and the simplest way to tell them apart is the number in the name: the singles champion of a WTA 250 event receives 250 ranking points, a WTA 500 champion 500 and a WTA 1000 champion 1,000.

The tiers also differ in draw size, prize money and how strongly the top players are obliged to take part. Those details are set in the WTA Rulebook, which is published for each season.

What each tier means

WTA 1000 events are the biggest tournaments outside the Grand Slams. The WTA rankings explanation lists them as 96-player or 56-player singles draws; the 96-player events run over roughly two weeks, like Indian Wells or Miami. Several WTA 1000 events are "Commitment Tournaments": a top player who misses one without an accepted reason receives a zero-point result that still counts in her ranking.

WTA 500 events are the middle tier. The 2025 rulebook shows singles draws of 28, 30 or 32 players, and a larger 48 or 56-player format for some events. They carry more points and money than a 250 and often attract several top-ten players in the weeks before a Grand Slam.

WTA 250 events are the entry level of the main tour, with 32-player singles draws. For many players ranked outside the top 50 they are the best chance to win a tour title and a meaningful block of points.

Tier	Champion's points	Typical singles draw	Former name
WTA 1000	1,000	96 or 56	Premier Mandatory / Premier 5
WTA 500	500	28–32 (some 48–56)	Premier
WTA 250	250	32	International

Where the old names went

Readers who followed tennis before 2021 will remember other labels. Until 2008 the WTA sorted its events into Tier I, II, III and IV; the Luxembourg tournament in Kockelscheuer, for example, was a Tier III event and then a Tier II event in 2005. From 2009 the categories became Premier Mandatory, Premier 5, Premier and International. The current numbered system replaced them in 2021, so that the name of the tier tells you the points on offer.

Where to check the exact figures

Points for each round, prize money and the list of tournaments in each tier change from season to season. For exact tables, use the WTA's official rankings explanation page and the current WTA Rulebook; for the Grand Slams, which award 2,000 points to the champion, check the tournament's own site. A player's results page on wtatennis.com shows the tier of every event she played, which is the quickest way to see where her points came from.