Indian Wells will host the WTA Finals after concluding a deal with Saudi Arabia

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) is ending its partnership with Saudi Arabia to host the season-ending finals a year earlier with the tournament in Indian Wells, California.

Since then, this tournament is being held in Riyadh for the last two years The WTA has signed a three-year deal with the Saudi Tennis Federation (STF). In April 2024, a deal that included record prize money.

But the final year of the contract ended by mutual consent after the STF accepted the WTA’s request to stage this year’s finals elsewhere.

BBC Sport understands ongoing tensions between Iran and the US have made planning for the final more challenging and is one of the reasons the deal ended a year early.

The event, featuring the top eight singles players and doubles teams of the year, will now be held in Indian Wells from November 8-15.

WTA Chair Valerie Camillo said this year’s event at the Indian Wells Tennis Gardens allowed the organization to “continue building one of the premier championships in global sport”.

“The Indian Wells Tennis Garden provides an exceptional stage for the WTA Finals,” Camillo added.

“From its world-class facilities and passionate fan base to its proven ability to deliver premier tennis events, the venue offers everything needed to showcase the very best in women’s tennis.”

Indian Wells has already hosted a WTA event at the BNP Paribas Open in March.

When the WTA decided to move the final to Saudi Arabia in 2024, the decision was met with significant backlash.

Saudi Arabia was accused of using the events to ‘sportswash’ its reputation amid allegations of human rights abuses and limiting women’s lives and freedom of speech.

However, WTA chief executive Steve Simon Saved the decisionsaid that by choosing Riyadh, women’s tennis would “support significant change in the region”.

“The WTA has been breaking barriers for over 50 years,” Simon told BBC Sport.

“We want to create more opportunities for women to play tennis at an elite level, and I think by doing that, we believe we can inspire more women and girls to get involved in the sport.

“We are a global sport. The WTA now has all these events and people from all over the world that reflect different cultures and systems.”

Saudi Arabia won the right to host the event after the WTA evaluated “multiple bids from different regions” and evaluated potential hosts on three criteria, including support for the organization’s ambitions to achieve equal prize money for women.