Rybakina and Sabalenka head WTA Finals groups as Indian Wells hosts season finale

Groups set for the season finale

The groups for the 2026 WTA Finals were fixed in a draw held overnight from 3 to 4 November. The season-ending tournament runs from Sunday, 8 November, to 15 November at Indian Wells Tennis Garden in California, on outdoor hard courts. World No. 1 Elena Rybakina sits in Group 1 with fourth-seeded Coco Gauff, fifth-seeded Jessica Pegula and eighth-seeded Linda Noskova. Second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka heads Group 2 alongside third-seeded Mirra Andreeva, sixth-seeded Elina Svitolina and seventh-seeded Karolina Muchova. Each player meets the other three in her group over the first six days, and the top two in each group reach the semifinals.

Rybakina's title defence

Rybakina beat Sabalenka 6:3, 7:6 (0) in last year's final in Riyadh, and she returns as the defending champion. Her 2026 season included the Australian Open and US Open titles, and she reached the top of the world rankings for the first time. She took first place after the US Open in September. Sabalenka lost that US Open final to Rybakina and gave up the top ranking, yet she won both Indian Wells and Miami this year, a Sunshine Double. Rybakina said she felt very excited at the draw, adding:

“It's definitely every year different. Now we're playing outside.”

Venue shift

The tournament was held in Riyadh last year, but organisers announced in July that it would move to Indian Wells after the WTA's hosting agreement with Saudi Arabia ended early. Safety and regional security concerns around the Iran war were behind the move away from Saudi Arabia. Indian Wells Tennis Garden is the home of the BNP Paribas Open, which brings the men's and women's tours to the California desert every March. The Finals will be played outdoors for the first time since 2023, when they were held in Cancun, Mexico.

Missing names and debutants

Iga Świątek will miss the Finals for the first time in five years. She lost her qualifying race to Karolina Muchova after withdrawing from the Ningbo tournament and then ending her season. Andreeva, Muchova and Noskova make their Finals debuts. Andreeva, aged 19 and the French Open champion, is one of the breakthrough players of the season. Svitolina, who won the title in 2018, brings experience of the event, while Noskova is the 2026 Wimbledon champion.

Doubles field

The doubles draw split eight teams into two groups. Top seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani lead Group 1, which also includes Guo Hanyu and Kristina Mladenovic, Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko, and Elise Mertens and Zhang Shuai. Second-seeded Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova top Group 2 with Cristina Bucsa and Nicole Melichar-Martinez, Ellen Perez and Demi Schuurs, and Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini. Mertens and Veronika Kudermetova won last year's title over Stefani and Timea Babos. The 55th edition carries total prize money of $15,500,000.