The WTA Finals, being played this year at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, had its first official moment in the desert on Tuesday as the event held its draw ceremony.

The WTA Finals, which features the top eight women's players in the world, are separated into two four-player groups that will face off in a round-robin event (beginning Sunday, Nov. 8) to determine four semifinalists. The semifinal winners will then face off for the title on Sunday, Nov. 15.

A ceremony held Tuesday afternoon and streamed live on TikTok revealed the breakdown of the two pools.

World No. 1 Elena Rybakina and World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka were put in separate pods and a random draw placed three of the remaining six players with Rybakina and three of the remaining six players with Sabalenka.

In Rybakina's pool, it will be Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula and Linda Noskova.

In Sabalenka's pool, it will be Mirra Andreeva, Elina Svitolina and Karolina Muchova.

The round robin action will start Sunday at noon and be televised on the Tennis Channel. Tickets for all eight days of the event are available at wtafinals.com.

The draw ceremony included in-person remarks from Rybakina, the doubles team of Elise Mertens and Zhang Shuai as well as WTA legend Rosie Casals and former U.S. Olympic gold medal gymnast Nastia Liukin who was there to celebrate women's sports and look ahead to the LA28 Olympics.

Event dates and schedule

Player field

• Elena Rybakina (World No. 1 and reigning WTA Finals champion, U.S. Open champ and Australian Open champ)

• Aryna Sabalenka (BNP Paribas Open and Miami champion earlier this year)

• Mirra Andreeva (BNP Paribas Open champ in 2025 and current French Open champ)

• Jessica Pegula (World No. 5-ranked player)

• Coco Gauff (2024 WTA Finals champion)

• Elina Svitolina (2018 WTA Finals champion)

• Karolína Muchová (World No. 7-ranked player)

• Linda Nosková (Current Wimbledon champ)