2026 Hobart International Prize Money & WTA Ranking Points Overview

The 2026 Hobart International will be contested from January 12th to 17th, and the WTA 250-level tournament's prize money and ranking points have been unveiled.

WTA 250 events often lack star quality because of strict entry requirements, designed to encourage the best players to play at WTA 500s that usually occur during the same week. Those rules have caused controversy.

Fortunately, the Hobart International has some terrific players on this year's entry list. The most notable is 2021 women's singles champion Emma Raducanu, who will aim to build momentum ahead of the 2026 Australian Open.

Raducanu recently revealed in an interview that she plans to participate in fewer tournaments than in 2025. She clearly thinks competing in the week before a Grand Slam is a valuable use of her time and energy.

Eva Lys, Elise Mertens, McCartney Kessler, and Tatjana Maria are among the others on the entry list. Lys had a breakthrough in 2025, but also endured the horror of being stalked, something which also happened to Raducanu.

As always, the financial and ranking point rewards are not as lucrative at WTA 250s compared to 500-level tournaments. However, the prize money and points on offer, especially for the latter rounds, are still decent.

The 2026 Hobart International champion will collect $37,390 and 250 points. Kessler is the defending champion, overcoming Mertens in last year's final. That was the Belgian's second consecutive final loss, falling to Emma Navarro in 2024.

This year's Hobart International runner-up will leave the tournament with $22,125 and 163 points. Eugenie Bouchard, Vera Zvonareva, and Bethanie Mattek-Sands are among the former finalists who were defeated.

Maya Joint, one of 2025's breakthrough young players, was defeated in last year's semifinals by Mertens. The two women who replicate that achievement will earn $12,331 and 98 points for that solid effort.

Amanda Anisimova, who can win multiple Grand Slams if she makes three improvements, 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin, Dayana Yastremska, and Veronika Kudermetova were 2025's beaten quarterfinalists. $7,025 and 54 points will be given to those who reach that stage in 2026.

Being beaten in the round of 16 or the round of 32 will earn players $4,285 and $3,065, respectively, and 30 or one ranking point. Although better than nothing, getting one ranking point may not feel like it was worth the journey for those players.

In contrast to the ATP Tour, which has been dominated by Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner since the start of 2024, the women's circuit is much more open. That was shown by four different players winning Grand Slams last year.

Madison Keys won her long-awaited first Major at the Australian Open, Coco Gauff triumphed at the French Open, Iga Swiatek shocked many with her run to the Wimbledon title, and Aryna Sabalenka retained her US Open crown.

Amanda Anisimova, Jessica Pegula, Mirra Andreeva, and Jasmine Paolini are among those who will try to secure their maiden Grand Slam singles titles in what should be a very exciting season.