World number one Elena Rybakina withdraws from WTA Finals in Indian Wells
World number one Elena Rybakina has withdrawn from the WTA Finals in Indian Wells on the eve of the tournament because of a viral illness. She had been due to begin on Sunday her bid to become the first player since 2014 to win the WTA Finals in consecutive years.
The 27-year-old Kazakh went undefeated to win the WTA Finals for the first time in 2025 and captured both the Australian Open and the US Open in 2026 as she established herself as the world number one for the first time. She secured her position as the year-end world number one while competing in Tokyo in October and had ended Aryna Sabalenka's 99-week hold on the top ranking by defeating the Belarusian in the US Open final six weeks earlier.
On the eve of the tournament Rybakina announced her withdrawal, saying: "I am really sad to inform all my fans and supporters that I unfortunately have to withdraw from the WTA Finals this year," Rybakina said. "I've had an incredible season but my body is just not physically ready to compete." "I'm going to spend some time resting and recovering at home and getting myself ready for the 2027 season."
This season Rybakina added titles at Stuttgart and Ningbo and finished runner-up at Indian Wells and Toronto. Her wins at the Australian Open and the US Open were part of what the source describes as the most successful season of her career.
She has won six of her 15 career titles since last October and ends the season having won 54 of her 68 matches, including 17 of 19 in Grand Slam tournaments. Those figures were provided in the report summarising her 2026 campaign.
Rybakina led the tour in serving this season, landing 438 aces, 140 more than second-placed Sabalenka, and compiled 1,775 winners. The report also notes she recorded 10 wins against fellow top-10 rivals during the campaign.
During this period of sustained success she ended a nearly four-year wait to back-up her maiden slam title at Wimbledon in 2022, according to the article.
Rybakina will not defend her WTA Finals title in Indian Wells and, as she stated, will spend time resting and recovering at home to prepare for the 2027 season.
