LTA announces commitment to equal prize money

Starting next year, Queen’s and Eastbourne will offer the highest WTA 500 and 250 purses in their categories as part of a longer-term equity effort.

The LTA on Thursday announced a significant uplift in women’s prize money levels for 2025 and a commitment to equalizing the prize money at its men’s and women’s events at the HSBC Championships (at the Queen’s Club) and the Lexus Eastbourne Open, no later than 2029.

For the first time this year all the LTA’s grass-court events will feature both men’s and women’s tennis. This is part of the LTA’s commitment to bring British fans the opportunity to watch the best players, men and women, on home soil and bring women’s tennis to a larger audience. The HSBC Championships will stage a women’s WTA 500 and a men’s ATP 500 event, while the Lexus Eastbourne Open will stage a women’s WTA 250 and a men’s ATP 250, both tour events of the same level.

This year the events will be providing not just the same experience for fans and players, but a move toward truly equal prize money over time for the players involved.

There are currently material differences between the prize money levels on the women’s WTA and men’s ATP tours. While the minimum prize money levels are set by the tours themselves, the LTA, with the full support of the WTA, has chosen to significantly uplift the WTA prize money at Queen’s and Eastbourne in 2025 and will fully close the gap between WTA and ATP prize money at these events no later than 2029.

This year the WTA 500 prize money at the HSBC Championships will rise to a record $1.415m. This means the HSBC Championships will be the highest paying WTA 500 event in the world for its draw size. While the WTA 250 prize money at the Lexus Eastbourne International will rise to $389,000 -- making this the highest paying WTA 250 event anywhere on the tour.

Staging grass-court events

Aligned with the WTA’s objectives of achieving prize money parity with the men’s game, the LTA is committed to achieving true equal prize money at these events as soon as possible and no later than 2029, however, it is important to understand the economic conditions in which the events operate.

The staging of grass-court tennis events is expensive and in 2024 the LTA’s grass-court events lost a total of £4m. However, the events play a key role in promoting the sport, giving British audiences the opportunity to watch the world’s best players at venues outside of The Championships at Wimbledon, and providing playing opportunities for British and international players.

The LTA’s ambition is to grow all its events over the coming years and particularly the women’s events in order to deliver a path to profitability and greater visibility for the women’s game.

The popularity of women’s tennis is increasing exponentially. Led by the WTA in 2024, it was the No. 1 women’s sport, with a cumulative global audience of one billion fans across more than 150 territories and a 25% growth in the number of social followers.

The LTA's vision is tennis opened up, and this investment sits alongside the LTA's wider work on supporting women and girls in tennis. The LTA already invests an equal amount into men’s and women’s tennis across its performance pathway, and stages more women’s international events than men’s in Great Britain. So far at the Queen’s WTA event 55% of ticket purchasers have been female. Growing the women’s grass-court events and increasing prize money is an important step in our ambition to make tennis truly gender balanced.

Scott Lloyd, LTA Chief Executive said:

“We are making significant increases this year to the women’s prize money at Queen’s and Eastbourne and want to achieve equal prize money as soon as possible. The LTA is committed to growing women’s tennis, both at professional and the grassroots level and this move is an important part of that commitment. This year fans will be able to enjoy both men’s and women’s tennis on the biggest stages that we can offer and we want to develop the tournaments so that the women’s events deliver a path to profitability and greater visibility for the sport. We aspire to play a leading part in the growth and development of women’s tennis globally, and we’ll continue to explore new ways in which we can do this.”

Portia Archer, WTA CEO said:

“We fully support the LTA’s initiatives to increase the women’s prize pot at its events, with a goal of achieving parity in the longer term. WTA athletes deliver consistently engaging and powerful games on court to entertain courtside fans and worldwide audiences. This move sends a powerful message that the women’s game is valued and will inspire new generations of girls picking up racquets to know their endeavours will be recognized.”

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