WTA Finals 2026 begins Nov 8 in Indian Wells after Rybakina withdrawal; Kostyuk called up
The WTA Finals 2026 starts on November 8 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in California and runs through November 15. Defending champion Elena Rybakina withdrew from the singles field, will drop 1,500 points and has been replaced on the entry list by alternate Marta Kostyuk.
The singles field now features Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Mirra Andreeva, Elina Svitolina, Karolina Muchova, Linda Noskova and Marta Kostyuk. Andreeva, Muchova, Kostyuk and Noskova will make their WTA Finals debuts, while Gauff and Svitolina return as former champions; Sabalenka and Pegula have each finished as runners-up at previous editions. The top-eight ranked players in both singles and doubles will compete for the season-ending titles.
The singles draw will be organised into two groups of four, with the top two players from each group advancing to the semi-finals. Match winners from those semi-finals will progress to the final, where the singles champion will be decided on the event's last day, November 15. The tournament schedule runs across the week to produce the season-ending finalist lineup.
The total prize pool for the 2026 edition is $10 million. An undefeated singles champion stands to earn $3.37 million, while an undefeated doubles team can receive $725,000. However, this is a cutdown from the amount Elena Rybakina received last year after winning the WTA Finals in Riyadh.
The doubles competition will follow a round-robin format, featuring eight teams divided into two groups. Among the leading doubles contenders named are Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani, Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and the Italian pairing of Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini. The doubles champion will also be determined on the final day, November 15.
Broadcast arrangements list Tennis Channel India and WTA TV for viewers in India. Sky Sports will carry the event in the United Kingdom, with matches also available online through a NOW Sports Membership; in the United States the tournament will be shown on the Tennis Channel via traditional cable and on live TV streaming platforms such as Fubo, YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV. Fans worldwide can watch the season-ending championship through their respective broadcasting channels.
The tournament runs from November 8 to November 15 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, with the singles and doubles champions to be crowned on the final day; for further updates Khel Now directs followers to its Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages and to its Android App or IOS App, and invites users to join its Whatsapp & Telegram communities.