2021 WTA Finals prize money to be reduced by $9,000,000

The total prize money for the 2021 WTA Finals has been drastically reduced by more than half of 2019's total, with participants competing for just $5,000,000 this year.

The prize pool for the 2019 edition was $14,000,000, indicating that the season-ending tournament suffered a loss of $9,000,000. This reduction in prize money was attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic, along with the location of the event, as it's being held in Guadalajara, Mexico this year.

This comes after it was announced that the Paris Masters will increase their prize money total, almost doubling the initial prize pool, reaching pre-pandemic levels. This increase is a result of the unexpected rise in ticket sales at the Masters event.

The WTA Finals is a round robin tournament where the top 8 female players of the season are divided into two groups and then compete to crown a winner. With the withdrawal of 2019 champion and World No.1 Ashleigh Barty, this means a continuation of the statistic that every WTA Finals tournament since 2015 has seen a different champion, with no repeat winner.