The 2026 WTA Finals is happening for the first time ever at Indian Wells from November 8-15.
This tournament is small but prestigious, open to the eight top performing singles players and doubles teams of the year. In terms of importance, only the four Grand Slams supersede it.
Here is what you need to know about this year’s singles tournament.
MORE: Who benefits from WTA Finals moving to Indian Wells
The WTA Finals singles draw
The WTA Finals singles draw has three former champions as well as three former Indian Wells champions.
- Elena Rybakina is 49-14 this season with three titles, two are Grand Slams (Australian Open and US Open). She is the only player in the draw who is a previous WTA Finals champion (2025) and an Indian Wells champion (2023). Rybakina is hoping to finish the year as the WTA World No. 1 ranked player for the first time in her career. She will need a solid performance to do so as Aryna Sabalenka is in striking distance.
- Aryna Sabalenka is 47-10 this season with three titles. She is less than 1,000 ranking points behind Rybakina, and an undefeated champion of this event (round robin and playoffs) can earn 1,500 points. Sabalenka likes playing at Indian Wells and is the reigning champion.
- Mirra Andreeva is 50-16, and the French Open champion. She has played doubles at the WTA Finals (with Diana Shnaider), but this is her first time in the singles draw. Andreeva won Indian Wells in 2025.
- Jessica Pegula has two WTA titles this year and a 50-13 record. She was the 2023 WTA Finalist when the event was in Cancun, losing to Iga Swiatek.
- Coco Gauff won one title in 2026 and is the 2024 WTA Finals champion. With Pegula, she also previously played doubles at the WTA Finals.
- Elina Svitolina won two titles this year on her way to a 46-14 record. She is the 2018 WTA Finals champion.
- Linda Noskova won two titles in 2026 including Wimbledon. She is 35-15 this season.
- Karolina Muchova or Marta Kostyuk will take the eighth position. Muchova is the points leader, but Kostyuk could overtake her with great runs in Ningbo and Tokyo. Whoever does not claim the eighth spot will be an alternate along with Iva Jovic. Alternates are on site and only play in the event if a player in the draw becomes injured or ill.
The WTA Finals storylines
The 2025 WTA Finals group photo is here! 👗
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) October 31, 2025
Simply iconic 🙇♀️✨
📸: @wtapic.twitter.com/Ec9YfZ1Ppi
The champion will be the one who can put together a great week of tennis in unique circumstances. Unlike a regular tournament with a bigger draw, the players face their high-ranked peers from start to finish in this event.
Iga Swiatek is absent from this year’s event. She is a former champion and had a chance to qualify for the eighth spot (or be an alternate), but she ended her season to recover from a leg injury.
Photo of the Day
— Christopher Clarey 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 (@christophclarey) October 28, 2023
The Elite 8 WTA Finals in Cancun with Sabalenka & Swiatek centerbeach before they duel for No. 1
📸 WTA pic.twitter.com/4r32N8cmdb
The WTA is moving this event to Charlotte beginning in 2027, but expectations are high for good attendance at Indian Wells because the tournament has not been played in the US since 2022.
Svitolina recently announced she is ending her marriage with now retired player Gael Monfils. Some wonder if she will opt out of this event. It takes a lot of hard work (and wins) to get here so she will likely play, but the other storyline with her is her stance toward Russian and Belarusian players because of her Ukrainian heritage and the longstanding Russia-Ukraine war.
WTA Finals iconic photo. pic.twitter.com/AM997y4xrW
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) November 1, 2024
Only four of the eight players were in last year’s event (Rybakina, Sabalenka, Pegula, and Gauff) so there will be new faces in the iconic photo including Andreeva, Noskova, and Muchova or Kostyuk.
In 2025, the US had four Americans in the top eight with Pegula, Gauff, Madison Keys, and Amanda Anisimova.
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