The WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz' signature event has arrived. Beginning Sunday, the 2026 FAGE WTA Finals at Indian Wells brings the top eight singles players and doubles teams to Tennis Paradise for the season-ending championship.

2026 WTA Finals: Schedule | Scores

Five players are returning to the WTA Finals, including reigning champion and World No. 1 Elena Rybakina, while three are set to make their debut at the year-end event. 

From dates, draws, schedule, prize money and more, here is everything to know:

What are the key dates, tournament structure and schedule?

The year-end tournament, held on indoor hard courts and using the Wilson US Open Regular Duty ball, begins on Sunday, Nov. 8 with group round-robin play. 

Both draws are split into two groups of four, and each player or team will play the other three members of their group once. The top two from each group advance to the semifinals on Nov. 14, with the winner of each group facing the second-place finisher from the other. 

Group standings
•    Each round-robin win is worth three points, with the top two advancing.
•    Should two players be tied, the head-to-head winner will hold the advantage. 
•    In a three-way tie, the tiebreaker is determined by matches played, highest percentage of sets won and highest percentage of games won. 

Match schedule (All times local to Indian Wells, California)

Sunday, Nov. 8 - Friday, Nov. 13 (Round robin)
•    12 p.m. -- Singles
•    FB -- Singles
•    FB -- Doubles
•    FB -- Doubles
Saturday, Nov. 14 (Semifinals)
•    12 p.m. -- Singles
•    FB -- Singles
•    FB -- Doubles
•    FB -- Doubles
Sunday, Nov. 15 (Championships)
•    12 p.m. -- Singles
•    FB -- Singles trophy presentation
•    FB -- Doubles final
•    FB -- Doubles trophy presentation

What are the ranking points and prize money at stake?

At Indian Wells, a total of $10 million will be available in prize money (USD), with $8 million allocated to the singles draw and $2 million allocated to doubles.

An undefeated singles champion would earn $3.37 million, including participation fees, and an undefeated doubles pair earns $725,000. 

Ranking points per win (both draws)
•    Round-robin = 200
•    Semifinal = 400
•    Final = 500

An undefeated tournament results in 1,500 ranking points.

Here’s a full breakdown of the prize money and ranking points:

Who has qualified and what are the round-robin groups?

Singles Groups

Group 1: [1] Elena Rybakina, [4] Coco Gauff, [5] Jessica Pegula, [8] Linda Noskova

This group will play their round-robin on Nov. 8, Nov. 10 and Nov. 12.

Group 2: [2] Aryna Sabalenka, [3] Mirra Andreeva, [6] Elina Svitolina, [7] Karolina Muchova

This group will play their round-robin on Nov. 9, Nov. 11 and Nov. 13.

Marta Kostyuk and Diana Shnaider will serve as alternates for the singles draw. This season, Kostyuk reached two Grand Slam semifinals and won two titles in Madrid and Rouen while Shnaider made one Grand Slam semifinal and recently won the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan.

Doubles Groups

Group 1: [2] Gabriela Dabrowski & Luisa Stefani, [3] Kristina Mladenovic & Guo Hanyu, [5] Jelena Ostapenko & Hsieh Su-wei, [7] Elise Mertens & Zhang Shuai

This group will play their round-robin on Nov. 9, Nov. 11 and Nov. 13.

Group 2: [1] Katerina Siniakova & Taylor Townsend, [4] Cristina Bucsa & Nicole Melichar-Martinez, [6] Ellen Perez & Demi Schuurs, [8] Sara Errani & Jasmine Paolini

This group will play their round-robin on Nov. 8, Nov. 10 and Nov. 12.

Olivia Nicholls and Tereza Mihalikova will serve as the on-site alternate pair for the doubles draw. Together, they won the HSBC Championships at Queen's Club, made the final at Abu Dhabi and advanced to the semifinals in Toronto, Bad Homburg and Tokyo. 

Who are the defending champions?

Elena Rybakina went undefeated in Riyadh last season, taking home $5.5 million, the largest payout in women's sports history. With the help of title in Ningbo and a semifinal run in Tokyo, she secured the last singles berth, and ultimately closed her 2026 season on an 11-match win streak. She defeated Amanda Anisimova, Ekaterina Alexandrova (alternate) and Iga Swiatek in the group stage, Jessica Pegula in the semifinals and Aryna Sabalenka in the championship. 

In doubles, Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens won their second WTA Finals title, defeating Timea Babos and Luisa Stefani 7-6(4), 6-1 in the final. The pair were victorious at the 2022 WTA Finals in Fort Worth.

Fast facts of the singles qualifiers

Elena Rybakina

•    Previous WTA Finals appearances: 3
•    Best finish: Champion (2025)
•    2025 WTA Finals finish: Champion
•    2026 record: 54-14
•    2026 titles: 4 -- Australian Open (Grand Slam), US Open (Grand Slam), Stuttgart (500), Ningbo (500)

Aryna Sabalenka

•    Previous WTA Finals appearances: 5
•    Best finish: Finalist (2022, 2025)
•    2025 WTA Finals finish: Finalist
•    2025 record: 47-11
•    2025 titles: 3 -- Brisbane (500), Indian Wells (1000), Miami (1000)

Mirra Andreeva

•    Previous WTA Finals appearances: 0 (singles debut in 2026)
•    2026 record: 50-16
•    2026 titles: 3 -- Roland Garros (Grand Slam), Adelaide (500), Linz (500)

Coco Gauff

•    Previous WTA Finals appearances: 4
•    Best finish: Champion (2024)
•    2025 WTA Finals finish: Group stage
•    2026 record: 47-15
•    2026 titles: 1 -- Cincinnati (1000)

Jessica Pegula

•    Previous WTA Finals appearances: 4
•    Best finish: Finalist (2023)
•    2025 WTA Finals finish: Semifinalist 
•    2026 record: 50-14
•    2026 titles: 2 -- Dubai (1000), Charleston (500)

Elina Svitolina

•    Previous WTA Finals appearances: 3
•    Best finish: Champion (2018)
•    2025 WTA Finals finish: Did not qualify
•    2026 record: 48-15
•    2026 titles: 2 -- Rome (1000), Auckland (250)

Karolina Muchova

•    Previous WTA Finals appearances: 0 (debut in 2026)
•    2026 record: 41-12
•    2026 titles: 2 -- Doha (1000), Bad Homburg (500)

Linda Noskova

•    Previous WTA Finals appearances: 0 (debut in 2026)
•    2026 record: 35-15
•    2026 titles: 2 -- Wimbledon (Grand Slam), Berlin (500)