​The flagship event in women’s tennis will move to Charlotte, N.C. for three years, starting in 2027, as the WTA Tour takes over operational ownership of the season-ending WTA Tour Finals.WTA chair Valerie Camillo made the announcement Wednesday alongside Charlotte Sports Foundation CEO Will Pitts. The news follows a months-long search for a home for the tournament, which showcases the best eight singles players and doubles pairs each year and which has led an itinerant existence since the start of the decade.It became clear this spring that the existing hosting deal, between the WTA and the Saudi Tennis Federation, would not be renewed when it expired in November. That arrangement was good for three editions in Riyadh — 2024, 2025 and 2026 — but this year’s final one will not be held there in part due to ongoing concerns over conflict in the region.That deal also came with tradeoffs for the record prize money that was offered each year. Hosting the event cost Saudi Arabia roughly $25 million per year, inclusive of prize money. Last year’s winner, newly minted U.S. Open champion Elena Rybakina, took home just under $5.3 million. But the arrangement also did little to help grow the popularity of the WTA or promote its flagship event. Matches in 2025 were not well advertised throughout Riyadh and were sparsely attended, which created an often lackluster television product.In the short term, the new deal with Charlotte ticks many of the WTA’s boxes for a host for its signature event. It is an established sports city with a large tennis fandom in a friendly timezone for U.S. and European television viewers, which make up the tour’s biggest markets. Its downtown area also has the facilities, accessibility and capacity to accommodate a large sporting event, with Spectrum Center, home to the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets, chosen as the venue for the Tour Finals.In a statement released Wednesday, the Charlotte Sports Foundation credited financial support from a number of regional economic enterprises, local government funding and investment from Charlotte’s corporate community.Camillo said the WTA taking operational ownership of the finals is a signal for how the tour aims to run in the future, as it moves away from receiving licensing fees from hosts. Prize money for the first edition is yet to be confirmed.“We’re taking control of this event. We’re taking control of the creation of the revenues and the controlling of the expenses and the delivery of the entire thing. And that allows us to control our own destiny,” she said.“The WTA is focused, through a variety of means, on controlling our own future, whether it’s around what we’re doing with our media rights and our production, whether it’s related to the WTA Finals, whether it’s how we’re approaching our calendar. We’re going to be making bold and aggressive moves for women’s tennis that shapes the future that we want rather than reacting.”Because the finals will