Rybakina and Sabalenka lead field at WTA Finals in Indian Wells

The WTA Finals, the season-ending tournament of women's professional tennis, will be held in Indian Wells, California, in the United States from 8 to 15 November. Eight singles players and eight doubles teams, all of whom earned their places through the season-long Race to the Finals, will compete for the title. Elena Rybakina is the defending champion.

Format

Matches are played in a round-robin format in two groups of four players or teams. The top two from each group advance to the knockout stage. Round-robin matches run from Sunday 8 November to Friday 13 November, with semi-finals on Saturday 14 November and the finals on Sunday 15 November. Play begins at 8pm each day, according to the source.

Groups

Group 1 consists of Elena Rybakina (seed 1), Coco Gauff (4), Jessica Pegula (5) and Linda Noskova (8). Group 2 features Aryna Sabalenka (2), Mirra Andreeva (3), Elina Svitolina (6) and Karolina Muchova (7).

Main contenders

Rybakina, 27, comes in as world No 1 after ending Sabalenka's 99-week spell at the top of the rankings. This season she won the Australian Open and the US Open, beating Sabalenka in both finals. The Belarusian Sabalenka won at Indian Wells and Miami, becoming only the fifth woman in WTA history to complete the so-called 'Sunshine Double'.

Three players are making their debuts at the event: Andreeva, Muchova and Noskova. Andreeva won her first Grand Slam title at the French Open this year, while Noskova is the reigning Wimbledon champion. Gauff has previously won the event, in 2024, and Svitolina took the title in 2018.

The tournament is broadcast live on Sky Sports, where Madison Keys, a former Australian Open champion, joins the commentary and analysis team.