Elena Rybakina withdraws from WTA Finals, Marta Kostyuk takes her place

Withdrawal announced

Elena Rybakina, the women's world No. 1, will not play the WTA Finals in Indian Wells, California, for medical reasons. She announced the decision on Saturday, 7 November, in a statement distributed by the WTA, the evening before her first match at the year-end championships. The 27-year-old Kazakh said her body was not ready for competition.

“I've had an incredible season, but my body is just not physically ready to compete.”

She added that she would spend time resting and recovering at home and preparing for the 2027 season. The WTA Finals bring together the eight best players of the year and run from 8 to 15 November.

A strong season and an earlier absence

Rybakina had already withdrawn from the WTA 500 event in Tokyo in late October, ahead of her quarterfinal, citing inflammation and pain in her neck. Her 2026 season produced 54 wins and 14 defeats, along with four titles at the Australian Open, Stuttgart, the US Open and Ningbo. Her run to the US Open title also carried her to the top of the rankings, and she had secured the year-end No. 1 spot before this announcement.

She is the defending champion after beating Aryna Sabalenka in Riyadh last year, when she entered the event as the last qualifier. Her lead over Sabalenka, who is world No. 2, stands at 1,614 ranking points.

Kostyuk and the revised draw

Marta Kostyuk, ranked World No. 10, moves into the eight-player field as the first alternate. She plays Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic in the opening Group 1 match on Sunday, 8 November, and later meets Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula. Group 2 remains Aryna Sabalenka, Mirra Andreeva, Elina Svitolina and Karolina Muchova.

Iga Swiatek would have taken the alternate spot, but she ended her season on 20 October to rest ahead of 2027. She holds a 278-point ranking lead over Kostyuk. Rybakina said the tournament holds special meaning for her and expressed hope of returning to Indian Wells in March.

Venue and timeline

The WTA announced in July that the tournament would move from the Middle East to the California desert, citing safety concerns linked to the war in the Middle East. The event now begins without its defending champion and without its top-ranked player.

The sequence of recent events, from Rybakina's withdrawal in Tokyo to Kostyuk's scheduled debut, is shown below.

The tournament runs until 15 November, with Kostyuk's first match scheduled for Sunday, 8 November.