Professional tennis is returning to Philadelphia this summer with the WTA 125 tournament

The Women’s Tennis Association is returning to Philadelphia for the first time since 2005.

On Thursday, the Philadelphia Sisters and Topnotch Management announced that they will host a new WTA 125 tournament, the Philadelphia Tennis Classic, in the city this August.

The WTA 125 tournament will take place at Penn’s Hamlin Tennis Center from Aug. 23-29, a week before the U.S. Open. Competitors will include several top-100 ranked players. The tournament will feature a 32-player singles draw, doubles competitions, and qualifying rounds. The singles champion will receive $125,000 in prize money and ranking points. The WTA 125 Tour is a developmental series that gives rising players a chance to improve their rankings and earnings.

In anticipation of a significant crowd, the WTA will construct a temporary 1,200-seat Center Court at the Hamlin Tennis Center, which currently seats several hundred.

The stop in Philly is one of four WTA 125 tournaments planned in the U.S. in 2026.

“I started my career in tennis with the WTA and had the opportunity to work across the French Open, Wimbledon, and Filderstadt, so bringing professional women’s tennis to Philadelphia is incredibly personal for me,” wrote Alexandra Niedbalski-Sykes, president and co-founder of the Philadelphia Sisters, in a news release. “Unrivaled proved what we already believed: Philadelphia fans are ready to show up for women’s sports in a big way. ... We’re building on that momentum by bringing professional tennis into the mix and giving this city an opportunity to once again show up for women’s sports in a big way.”

The Philadelphia Sisters were founded in 2019 by Niedbalski-Sykes and her wife, comedian Wanda Skyes, along with co-founders Ashley Lunkenheimer and Starla Crandall. The group was behind the project that brought Unrivaled to Philadelphia in January. The women’s basketball event sold out at Xfinity Mobile Arena with a record-breaking 21,490 fans.

The WTA 125 tournament marks the tour’s return to the city for the first time since it hosted the final Advanta Championships of Philadelphia, which were hosted in the city from 1970 through 2005. Philadelphia has a long history of hosting women’s tennis events, including the first U.S. National Women’s Championships at the Philadelphia Cricket Club in 1887.

Billie Jean King founded the Philadelphia Freedoms, a World TeamTennis franchise.

“The Philadelphia Sisters have done it again, and our city is ready and eager to welcome world-class tennis back home,” Mayor Cherelle Parker said. “As the world witnessed with Unrivaled, Philly offers an incredible stage to celebrate and elevate the women’s game, and the Philadelphia Tennis Classic will bring even more energy, opportunities, and competition to our passionate and vibrant sports scene. Philadelphia will continue to make more and more room for women’s professional sports. We are a women’s sports town, and we are just getting started.”

Tickets will go on sale in May and can be purchased through the Philadelphia Tennis Classic website. The tournament is expected to host a week of activities ahead of the event, including opportunities for community engagement, youth programs, and citywide partnerships.