WTA Finals 2026: groups drawn, Iga Świątek absent from Indian Wells
The groups have been drawn for the season-ending WTA Finals in Indian Wells. Elena Rybakina defends her title and Aryna Sabalenka faces Mirra Andreeva, among others. Iga Świątek will not play.
Author: Editorial teamPublished: 2 min read
The groups for the 2026 WTA Finals have been drawn. The draw took place overnight between Tuesday 3 and Wednesday 4 November 2026 (Polish time). Eight players will compete for the title in Indian Wells from 8 to 15 November. This year the event is held in the United States rather than in Riyadh, which hosted previous editions.
The groups
Group 1: Jelena Rybakina (Kazakhstan, No 1), Coco Gauff (USA, 4), Jessica Pegula (USA, 5) and Linda Noskova (Czech Republic, 6).
Group 2: Aryna Sabalenka (No 2), Mirra Andreeva (No 3), Elina Svitolina (Ukraine, 7) and Karolina Muchova (Czech Republic, 8).
Rybakina is the world number one and the defending champion. In last year's final she beat Sabalenka 6-3, 7-6(0). In September this year she took the top ranking from her rival. She now faces two matches against Americans, who know the conditions on the Californian courts well.
In the second group, one of the more interesting matches is expected to be Sabalenka against 19-year-old Andreeva, who is ranked third in the world. Svitolina won the season-ending championship in 2018, beating Sloane Stephens in the final. Andreeva, Muchova and Noskova will make their WTA Finals debuts.
At the draw ceremony Rybakina said she feels the pressure of the attention but treats it as motivation. Her words are quoted by Reuters.
Schedule
Play begins on 8 November. Each player will play three group matches, and the top two from each group will advance to the semi-finals, scheduled for 14 November. The final takes place a day later, on 15 November.
No Iga Świątek
Iga Świątek will be absent, as she did not qualify for the season-ending tournament.
Sources
This article was prepared automatically by AI from the listed sources and published without prior editorial review. Spotted a mistake? Use the “Report an error in this article” button.
Photos
- Cover: „tennis, play, tennis court, ball, racket”, author: hansmarkutt, licence Pixabay Content License; cropped or resized.
- Photo 1: „tennis, balls, tennis racket, tennis court, sports”, author: planet_fox, licence Pixabay Content License; cropped or resized.
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