WTA Finals 2026: Indian Wells line-up, groups, prize money and broadcast plans
The WTA Finals 2026 will be staged at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California from November 8 to November 15, featuring the top eight singles players and doubles teams; reigning champion and World No. 1 Elena Rybakina has withdrawn and Marta Kostyuk will serve as the alternate.
The season-ending event brings together the tour’s top eight-ranked players and top doubles teams on outdoor courts in California. Four competitors — Mirra Andreeva, Karolina Muchova, Linda Noskova and Marta Kostyuk — are making their WTA Finals debuts. Rybakina, the reigning champion who made an undefeated run in Riyadh last season and earned $5.5 million, was set to make her third appearance before withdrawing; her absence guarantees an 11th different champion at the WTA Finals. The last player to successfully defend the title was Serena Williams, who won three straight editions between 2013 and 2015.
Two former WTA Finals winners remain in the field: Elina Svitolina and Coco Gauff. Marta Kostyuk will step in as the alternate following Rybakina’s last-minute withdrawal. A social post noted: "World No. 1 Elena Rybakina's 2026 season has come to an end after withdrawing from the WTA Finals 👋She ends the year as a double Grand Slam champion, having won the Australian Open and the US Open 🏆🏆 pic.twitter.com/esx0whR4CA"
World No. 4 Coco Gauff leads Group 1 alongside Jessica Pegula, Linda Noskova and Marta Kostyuk, while World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka heads Group 2 with Mirra Andreeva, Elina Svitolina and Karolina Muchova. The tournament format places the eight singles players into two groups for the round-robin stage before progressing to the knockout rounds.
Prize money for the 2026 WTA Finals is $10 million, with $8 million allocated to the singles draw and $2 million to the doubles draw. An undefeated singles champion will receive $3.37 million, and an undefeated doubles pair will earn $725,000.
Several players in the draw have recent WTA Finals or major-final histories: Coco Gauff won the title in 2024 (Riyadh), Elina Svitolina was crowned champion in 2018 (Singapore), Aryna Sabalenka reached finals in 2022 and 2025 (losing to Caroline Garcia in 2022 and to Elena Rybakina in 2025), and Jessica Pegula was runner-up in Cancun 2023, losing to Iga Swiatek in the final. In doubles, Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens claimed their second WTA Finals doubles title last season with a straight-sets victory over Timea Babos and Luisa Stefani.
The 2026 WTA Finals will stream live in India and the United States on the Tennis Channel; fans in the United Kingdom can watch live coverage on BBC, Sky Sports and Tennis Channel. The 2026 edition will not feature any Indian players in the singles draw.
With the defending champion withdrawn and Marta Kostyuk promoted to alternate, the tournament will commence on November 8 and conclude on November 15 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, and, as noted in coverage, "two-time losing finalist Aryna Sabalenka and third seed Mirra Andreeva will be among the title favourites."