WTA 250 September 21 - 27, 2026
Korea Open Tennis 2026: Seoul Dates, the Draw and the Prize Money
Seoul's autumn tournament at the Olympic Park has been a WTA 250, then a WTA 500, and in 2026 a WTA 250 again. Here are the dates, the draw, the prize money per round and the champions, from Karolina Muchova to Kimberly Birrell.
- Prize money 2026
- $283,347total commitment, WTA
- Champion's cheque
- $37,390Kimberly Birrell, 2026
- Singles draw
- 32players, September 21 - 27, 2026
Next edition
When is the next Korea Open?
In shortThe next edition, with dates from the tours' published calendar and a file for your own calendar app.
The next Korea Open
WTAWTA 250
In 322 days
September 20 to September 26, 2027
Seoul, South Korea
Add to calendar
Dates are the tours' published calendar, checked every week. See the full season calendar.
Dates and draw
Korea Open tennis 2026: dates and draw
In shortThe 2026 Korea Open ran September 21 - 27, 2026 at the Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Center, with a 32-player singles draw and 16 doubles teams. It was a WTA 250 event.
The Korea Open sits in the Asian swing in late September, between the US Open and the big events in China and Japan. In 2026 it shared its week with the WTA 500 in Singapore. The draw was open, with the second seed, Kimberly Birrell, ranked 60th, winning the title and the fifth seed, Maya Joint, as the other finalist.
One detail from the first round got more attention at home than the final. Three South Korean wild cards reached the second round, which the WTA said had not happened at a WTA event in 42 years.
Prize money
Korea Open prize money per round
In shortThe 2026 Korea Open had a total commitment of $283,347. The singles champion took $37,390, and a first-round loser $3,065.
Korea Open prize money per round
Singles, per player, 2026 edition, in USD
| Round reached | Share of the champion's cheque | WTA |
|---|---|---|
| Champion | $37,390 | |
| Semifinal | $12,331 | |
| Quarterfinal | $7,025 | |
| Round of 16 | $4,285 | |
| Round of 32 | $3,065 |
Source: WTA draws page for the 2026 Korea Open. The WTA's table lists the champion's amount under "Final" and gives no separate runner-up figure, so that row is left out rather than estimated. The champion earns 250 ranking points at a WTA 250.
These are small numbers by tour standards, and that is the point of the category. The 2026 champion's cheque at the 250 level is $37,390, against the $164,000 Iga Swiatek received in 2025 when the event was still a 500, and it has to cover a flight to Asia and a coach for the week. For most players who come to Seoul, the 250 ranking points are worth as much as the money.
Purse by year
Korea Open prize money by year
In shortThe purse jumped from $259,303 in 2023 to $922,573 in 2024, when the event became a WTA 500, rose again to $1,064,510 in 2025, and fell back to $283,347 in 2026 as a WTA 250.
Korea Open total purse by year, in US dollars
| Year | WTA total (USD) |
|---|---|
| 2019 | $226,750 |
| 2022 | $251,750 |
| 2023 | $259,303 |
| 2024 | $922,573 |
| 2025 | $1,064,510 |
| 2026 | $283,347 |
Total financial commitment from each year's WTA tournament page. The 2020 and 2021 editions are left out.
The purse in context
Compared with the 35 event rows in the prize-money ledger, by total purse in US dollars.
- WTAWTA 250, 2026
- $283,347Total purse
- No. 35Of 35 events by purse
- -73.4%Against the year before
- 13.2%Champion's share of the purse
Each row of the ledger is one tour's edition, so a combined event appears once per tour. See the full ledger.
Few tournaments have a chart shaped like this one. Two years at the 500 level roughly quadrupled the purse, and the return to 250 status in 2026 took it straight back down. The swing changed the field as well as the money. Iga Swiatek came to Seoul in 2025 and won the title, while the 2026 champion was ranked 60th.
Seoul Olympic Park
Where the Korea Open is played in Seoul
In shortThe tournament is played on outdoor hard courts at the Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Center, whose main stadium holds about 10,000 spectators.
- Category
- WTA 250 (WTA 500 in 2024 and 2025)
- 2026 dates
- September 21 - 27, 2026
- Venue
- Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Center
- Main stadium
- About 10,000 seats
- Surface
- Outdoor hard
- Founded
- 2004
The tennis center sits inside Seoul's Olympic Park, and its main stadium holds about 10,000 people. The WTA dates the tournament's founding to 2004. On the calendar it comes a week after the US Open final and just before the China swing, so the field mixes players chasing points for the autumn with others using Seoul as their first match after New York.
The Asian swing
Where Seoul sits in the autumn calendar
In shortSeoul opens the WTA's Asian swing in late September. After it come Beijing, Wuhan, Ningbo and Tokyo, ending with the WTA Finals in November.
The order shapes how players plan the autumn. In 2026 Seoul ran the week after the Guadalajara and Sao Paulo events and alongside the WTA 500 in Singapore. The China Open in Beijing, a WTA 1000, started on September 30, followed by the WTA 1000 in Wuhan from October 12 and the Ningbo and Osaka events the week after. Tokyo's Pan Pacific Open and the Guangzhou event follow at the end of October, and the WTA Finals follow in November.
That sequence explains a lot about who travels to Seoul. A player aiming for Beijing and Wuhan can use the Korea Open to adjust to the time zone and the courts a week early. A player outside the top 50 sees one of the last chances of the year to collect points at tour level before the 1000s, where direct entry is harder.
The money tells the same story from another angle. In 2025, as a 500, the Korea Open paid $164,000 to its champion, $59,000 to each semifinalist and $11,300 to a first-round loser. In 2026, as a 250, those figures were $37,390, $12,331 and $3,065. The upgrade lasted two seasons; the WTA's own tournament page for 2026 still described the event as a 500 in its text while tagging it as a 250, a small sign of how recent the change is.
Champions
Korea Open champions
In shortKimberly Birrell won in 2026, her first WTA title. Before her came Iga Swiatek (2025), Beatriz Haddad Maia (2024) and Jessica Pegula (2023).
Korea Open singles finals
Champion first, runner-up and score under the name.
Men
Women
Birrell's win over Maya Joint was the first all-Australian singles final on the WTA tour since 2017. She had lost her two previous WTA finals. Swiatek's 2025 title was a different kind of match. She lost the first set 1-6 to Ekaterina Alexandrova, who had won in Seoul in 2022, and came back to win 7-6(3), 7-5. The list goes back to Karolina Muchova in 2019; the 2020 and 2021 editions are not included because we could not confirm them on an official page.
The ATP event
Is there an ATP Korea Open in Seoul?
In shortNo ATP event is played in Seoul in 2026. The ATP held a 250-level Korea Open at the same venue in 2022, won by Yoshihito Nishioka.
The men's Korea Open was a one-year arrival. Yoshihito Nishioka beat Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 7-6(5) in the 2022 final, and the event has not appeared on the ATP calendar since. Korea Open tennis today almost always means the women's tournament. For the full list of who plays where in the autumn, see the tennis calendar, and for how the 250, 500 and 1000 levels compare, the tournaments guide.
If you are comparing purses across the season, the tennis prize money ledger lists every Grand Slam and 1000 event with its latest verified total.
FAQ
Korea Open tennis: questions and answers
In shortQuick answers on the dates, the draw, the prize money and the champions in Seoul.
When is the Korea Open tennis tournament?
The Korea Open is played in September. The 2026 edition ran September 21 - 27, 2026 at the Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Center; the dates for 2027 are published with the WTA calendar.
What is the Korea Open prize money?
The 2026 total financial commitment was $283,347. The singles champion received $37,390, a semifinalist $12,331, a quarterfinalist $7,025 and a first-round loser $3,065.
Why is the Korea Open prize money lower in 2026?
Because the event dropped from WTA 500 to WTA 250. The 2025 edition, still a 500, offered $1,064,510; the 2026 total was $283,347.
Who won the Korea Open in 2026?
Kimberly Birrell beat Maya Joint 6-4, 6-2 in the first all-Australian WTA final since 2017. It was Birrell's first WTA title.
Who won the Korea Open in 2025?
Iga Swiatek, who beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 1-6, 7-6(3), 7-5 in the final of the WTA 500 edition.
Where is the Korea Open played?
At the Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Center. The main stadium holds about 10,000 spectators.
How many players are in the Korea Open draw?
In 2026 the singles main draw had 32 players and the doubles draw 16 teams. The 2025 WTA 500 edition had a 28-player singles draw.
Is there a men's Korea Open?
Not in 2026. An ATP 250 called the Korea Open was held in Seoul in 2022, won by Yoshihito Nishioka, and has not been on the ATP calendar since.
When was the Korea Open founded?
The women's tournament was founded in 2004, according to the WTA.