The WTA have decided to move their end-of-year event from Saudi Arabia to Indian Wells.
The WTA Finals was due to be held in Riyadh for a third consecutive year as part of a three-year deal with the Saudi Tennis Federation.
However, amid changes to the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund’s sports investment strategy and ongoing international tensions, the tournament has been moved to the United States.
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Indian Wells, a location that also hosts two premier tennis events in March, is set to be the 17th WTA Finals location since the tournament’s inauguration in 1972.
Jim Courier reacted to the new plans, and he has suggested an idea that would see the WTA Finals infrastructure overhauled.
Jim Courier wants to see the ATP Finals and WTA Finals combined into one ‘super final’
“Did a deep dive last year during the ATP men’s finals about what a perfect schedule would look like for tennis,” Courier, a four-time major champion, said on the Tennis Channel.
“And a perfect schedule for me would be combining the men’s and the women’s finals for one super final. And that would be the great way to capstone the career.
“There’s nothing that tennis does better than putting the men and women together. That’s our best product.
This is a stopgap move [Indian Wells]. They will be looking to sell this someplace else, no doubt.
“I just hope that the new WTA leadership can get with the ATP leadership and this plan, if it has to be 10 years from now, let’s make a plan to put them together.
The last 10 WTA Finals champions
- 2025 – Elena Rybakina
- 2024 – Coco Gauff
- 2023 – Iga Swiatek
- 2022 – Caroline Garcia
- 2021 – Garbine Murguruza
- 2019 – Ashleigh Barty
- 2018 – Elina Svitolina
- 2017 – Caroline Wozniacki
- 2016 – Dominika Cibulková
- 2015 – Agnieszka Radwańska
“That’s the way the tennis year should come to an end.”
The WTA Finals was first held in 1972 in Boca Raton, USA.
Since then 16 further locations have hosted the premier tennis event, including Singapore, Mexico, and China.
The impending Indian Wells event represents the seventh different US location to host the Finals, and the first since Fort Worth in 2022.
Jim Courier says hosting the WTA Finals in Indian Wells is a ‘real gamble’
Courier, a former world number one, also expressed his distaste for frequent changes to the location of end-of-year events.
The American icon described the shifting landscape as ‘terrible’ before arguing that continuity in location is key to attracting fans to the ATP Finals and WTA Finals.
“I was a part of that [moving the Finals frequently]. It didn’t work. It was terrible. No, it was terrible,” Courier said while in discussion with tennis analyst Prakash Amritraj.
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When asked why the end of year events are better off being held in one location year-on-year, Courier pointed to the success of past long-term events held in New York and London.
“Because when you had, like, in Madison Square Garden, where the men and women both were, that was amazing,” Courier said. “You have that continuity and the anticipation.
“In London for the O2 had an incredible run. I don’t know why they ever left there. Laver Cup has now filled that slot there. There’s a great building there.
“Look, can you use it to market the game? The ATP was in Sydney, they were in Portugal, they went everywhere. I don’t think that works. I think you want to have some stability.”
Courier later branded the WTA Finals’ move to Indian Wells as a ‘real gamble’
“I got my fingers crossed for this. I think it’s a lot to ask fans to go to Indian Wells twice,” the American analyst admitted.
“I think it’s a lot. I hope they do well. And I know that the team in Indian Wells is as good as anybody at promoting tennis.
“I’m just telling you, this is a real gamble.”
