All systems go for match racing tours

It was January 2026 when it was announced how the finale for the World Match Racing Tour and the Women’s World Match Racing Tour would be held in Saudi Arabia. But the world was a simpler place back then, and while this venue is on the safer side of the Arabian Peninsula, safe is a relative word in the Middle East these days.

However, with the release of the Notice of Race, it is all systems go. The 2026 Women’s World Match Racing Tour Final is November 2-7, followed by the World Match Racing Tour Final on November 9-14.  Hosted by AMAALA Yacht Club, the winners of the Finals will be crowned 2026 Match Racing World Champions by World Sailing.

With racing in J/70s on Saudia Arabia’s northwestern Red Sea coast, this will be the first time the final of the Women’s World Match Racing Tour, launched in 2022, will be staged back-to-back with the Open World Match Racing Tour Final. Both events will also offer a $200,000 prize purse, with the women’s event representing the largest prize ever offered for an all-female sailing event.

Details: Open Tour – Women’s Tour

Founded in 2000, the World Match Racing Tour promotes the sport of match racing around the world and is the longest running global professional series in the sport of sailing. The winner of the WMRT each year is crowned the Match Racing World Champion.

The Women’s World Match Racing Tour was launched in 2022 to continue the hugely successful legacy of the WIM Series (Women’s International Match Racing Series), which began in 2013 to provide a global match racing series for female sailors.

Source: WMRT