WTA Finals 2026: Players, groups, schedule and prize money as Rybakina defends title

The 2026 women's tennis season will draw to a close in Indian Wells when the WTA Finals returns to the US after two years in Riyadh.

The world's eight top-ranked singles players and doubles teams will be in action, including World No 1 Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka, Mirra Andreeva and Coco Gauff.

Rybakina is the defending champion, having won last time out in Riyadh. The Kazakh player has just been confirmed as the year-end No 1 for the first time in her career.

The tournament was last played in the US at Fort Worth in 2022 and will move to Charlotte, North Carolina, for a three-year stint from 2027.

2026 WTA Finals players

Singles

Group 1

Elena Rybakina (1) Kazakhstan

Coco Gauff (4) United States

Jessica Pegula (5) United States

Linda Noskova (8) Czech Rep

Group 2

Aryna Sabalenka (2) Belarus

Mirra Andreeva (3) Russia

Elina Svitolina (6) Ukraine

Karolina Muchova (7) Czech Rep

Doubles

Group 1

Gabriela Dabrowski & Luisa Stefani (1)

Guo Hanyu & Kristina Mladenovic (3)

Hsieh Su-Wei & Jelena Ostapenko (5)

Elise Mertens & Zhang Shuai (7)

Group 2

Taylor Townsend & Katerina Siniakova (2)

Cristina Bucsa & Nicole Melichar-Martinez (4)

Ellen Perez & Demi Schuurs (6)

Sara Errani & Jasmine Paolini (8)

Format

The eight singles players are split into two groups of four. In the group stage, every player plays three matches against the other three players in the group.

Each group win is worth three points. If players are tied at the end of the group stage, the head-to-head winner advances.

The top two from each group advance to the semi-finals, where the group winners take on the second-place finishers from the other group.

The same format is used for the doubles competition.

Schedule & venue

The WTA Finals take place from November 8-15 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, California, USA

Saturday, November 8 (Sunday Nov 9, UAE)

Midnight: Elena Rybakina vs Linda Noskova

Followed by: Coco Gauff vs Jessica Pegula

Followed by: Katerina Siniakova/Taylor Townsend vs Sara Errani/Jasmine Paolini

Followed by: Cristina Bucsa/Nicole Melichar-Martinez vs Ellen Perez/Demi Schuurs

Sunday, November 9 (Monday Nov 10, UAE)

Midnight: Aryna Sabalenka vs Karolina Muchova

Followed by: Mirra Andreeva vs Elina Svitolina

Followed by: Gabriela Dabrowski/Luisa Stefani vs Elise Mertens/Zhang Shuai

Followed by: Guo Hanyu/Kristina Mladenovic vs Hsieh Su-wei/Jelena Ostapenko

Prize money

The record prize fund of $15.5 million established last year remains on offer with $12.4m for singles and $3.1m for doubles.

An undefeated singles champion stands to take home $5.24m, while a perfect record in doubles will be worth $1.14m.

How to watch in UAE

Fans in the UAE can watch the WTA Finals on streaming platform DAZN.