The 2026 WTA Finals draw is out and world No 1 Elena Rybakina appears to have a tough draw in Group 1, whereas Aryna Sabalenka’s group is probably more evenly matched.

Defending champion Rybakina is the top seed at the season-ending tournament for the first time following her rise to the top of both the WTA Rankings and Race To Indian Wells.

World No 2 Sabalenka – who has been the top seed the past three years – headlines Group 2 so they can only face each other in either the semi-final or the final.

Reigning Australian Open and US Open champion Rybakina has ended up with world No 4 Coco Gauff, No 5 Jessica Pegula and No 8 Linda Noskova in Group A while Sabalenka will face No 3 Mirra Andreeva, No 6 Elina Svitolina and No 7 Karolina Muchova.

WTA News

The tournament – which has moved from Riyadh to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in California – will get underway on Sunday, 8 November with the finals set for the following Sunday, 15 November.

Group 1
1. Elena Rybakina
4. Coco Gauff
5. Jessica Pegula
8. Linda Noskova

Group 2
2. Aryna Sabalenka
3. Mirra Andreeva
6. Elina Svitolina
7. Karolina Muchova

The players in Group 1 will kick things off on the opening day with the first match an all-Grand Slam line-up as three-time Grand Slam winner Rybakina takes on reigning Wimbledon champion Noskova from noon (local time). That will be followed by an all-American clash between Gauff and Pegula.

Rybakina has a dominant head-to-head record against the Czech as she leads 3-0 while Gauff and Pegula are tied at 5-5.

Group 2 will be the top billing on Monday, 9 November with four-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka facing Muchova in the first match of the day and the latter leads the H2H 3-2.

French Open winner Andreeva then takes on Svitolina in what will be their third career meeting, with the H2H tied at 1-1.

Last year, Rybakina won the WTA Finals undefeated as she beat Iga Swiatek, Amanda Anisimova and Ekaterina Alexandrova in the group phase before defeating Pegula in the semi-final and Sabalenka in the final.

Gauff won the 2024 edition, also in Saudi Arabia, with Svitolina the other former champion in the draw as she was crowned winner in 2018.

Noskova, Andreeva and Muchova are making their debuts at the WTA Finals while world No 10 Marta Kostyuk and No 11 Diana Shnaider are the alternates and will step in should there be in any withdrawals.