2025 was a memorable year for the WTA Tour after a captivating season filled with dominant superstars, the rise of emerging young players, and some surprising winners.
But it’s not over yet.
While many players have already headed to the beach for some well-deserved (and all-too-brief) rest and relaxation, the best of the best remain in action, with their eyes firmly set on winning the last title of the year at the WTA Finals.
The (somewhat controversial) tournament, to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, begins on Saturday with a round robin, featuring the top eight singles players and the top eight doubles teams, with a total prize pool of $15.5 million.
After six days, each player or duo plays three matches and the top two from each group advance to the semi-finals. The event concludes on November 8th, with the singles winner receiving up to $5,235,000 in prize money and the doubles winner receiving up to $1,139,000 and up to 1,500 ranking points. (The winning player or team earns the maximum prize money and points by winning all three of their group matches. If they are not undefeated, they earn less money for both.)
Not sure what to expect from the final WTA tournament of the year? Here’s everything you need to know.
who is in it
single
Stephanie Graf Group
1. Arina Sabalenka
3. Coco Gauff
5. Jessica Pegula
7. Jasmine Paolini
serena williams group
2.. Iga Swiatek
4. Amanda Anisimova
6. Madison Keys
8. Elena Rybakina
doubles
Martina Navratilova Group
1. Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini
4. Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens
6. Sue Week and Elena Ostainko
8. Asia Muhammad and Demi Schulls
Liesel Huber Group
2. Katerina Sinakova and Taylor Townsend
3. Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliff
5. Mila Andreeva and Diana Schneider
7. Timea Babos and Luisa Stefani
Gauff seems to repeat
It’s been a season full of ups and downs for Gauff, the top-ranked American and No. 3 in the world. The 21-year-old won her second major singles title at Roland Garros, but she also had a disastrous period of poor form, as she struggled with her serve and changed coaching teams just before the US Open.
Gauff returned to Riyadh as the defending champion and appears to have rediscovered her form and confidence at the right time. After a tough summer hardcourt season that included a fourth-round loss in New York, Gauff spent several weeks training at her home in Florida before heading to China. She later confessed that she considered skipping Asian swing altogether, but her hard work and persistence paid off. Gauff reached the semifinals of the China Open and won the title earlier this month in Wuhan, defeating Paolini in the semifinals and Pegula in the final. She didn’t drop a single set on her way to the 1000 level trophy.
After the win in Wuhan, Gauff said: “The experience I had in the middle of the season, especially in New York, definitely gives me more confidence going into the WTA Finals.”
“It gives me a lot of confidence to try to defend that title. Of course, I won last year so I know how difficult it is, so I’m going to work hard every match and hope I can get the trophy at the end.”
Gauff is certainly one of the favorites to win the title, but achieving that won’t be easy. In fact, no player has successfully defended their title at a year-end event since Serena Williams did it in 2013 and 2014.
American advantage
Americans account for half of Saudi Arabia’s singles spots, with Anisimova, Pegula and Keys also qualifying. It will be the largest number of Americans to attend the prestigious event since 2003, just months before Gauff was born. (And with Serena, Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport all absent due to injury that year, this is expected to be the largest American delegation to actually compete since 2002, when 16 players were on the field.)
Anisimova, currently ranked a career-high No. 4, will make her debut at the tournament after winning 1000-level titles at the Qatar Open and China Open, as well as reaching her first major final at Wimbledon, followed by her final appearance at the US Open.
Pegula is coming off a strong second half of the year, qualifying for a fourth straight season, reaching the semifinals at the U.S. Open and China Open, and reaching the final in Wuhan. She was a 2023 finalist for the year-end championship.
And Keys, who won his first major title of the year at the Australian Open, will be returning to the tournament for the first time since 2016. The 30-year-old hasn’t played since a stunning first-round exit at the US Open in August and hasn’t reached a final since his win in Melbourne, but Keys should be well-rested and there’s probably no player better equipped to pull off a surprise victory.
Americans also often participate in the doubles draw. This will be Townsend’s second consecutive appearance since reaching the final in 2024, and Muhammad’s first appearance at the tournament. Both have had strong seasons, with Townsend winning the Australian Open with Sinakova and Muhammad winning Indian Wells and Queen’s Club with Schuurs.
Battle for No.1
After Swiatek won Wimbledon and lost in the quarterfinals at the US Open, it looked as if she had a chance to take back the No. 1 spot from Sabalenka by the end of the year. When she won the title at the Korean Open in September and Sabalenka retired from competition, that possibility seemed even more likely as Swiatek closed the gap to less than 3,000 points for the first time all season. She said it wasn’t her “main focus” heading into the China Open, but didn’t deny how much it meant to her to earn the top ranking.
However, after losing in the round of 16 in Beijing and losing in the quarterfinals in Wuhan (and Sabalenka’s loss in the semifinals in her first tournament back after winning the US Open), there was a 1,675 point difference between the two, making it mathematically impossible for Swiatek to surpass Sabalenka. No matter what happens in Riyadh, Sabalenka will end the season as No. 1 at the end of the year for the second straight season – and has remained at the top all season.
Yet, despite having already done that, the 27-year-old Sabalenka is aiming for her first WTA Finals crown. This was her fifth consecutive appearance and she reached the final in 2022, but was unable to win the elusive title. No player has had a more consistent run at the biggest tournaments in recent years – in addition to winning in New York, she reached the finals of this year’s Australian Open and French Open, and reached the semifinals of this year’s Wimbledon – and she may be hungry for it more than ever.
But of course, Swiatek, the 2023 champion, also wants to end the season with a bang, and Sabalenka will be on high alert heading into 2026.
that’s not how you start
Players like Sabalenka and Swiatek secured their spots in the summer, while Paolini and Rybakina needed a late surge to grab the final spot.
Paolini has already qualified for the doubles draw, earning his spot after reaching back-to-back semifinals in Beijing and Wuhan. She previously won the Italian Open title in the spring and reached the final in Cincinnati. She is the only player to achieve both draws in Riyadh.
And Rybakina won the title in Ningbo last week and reached the semi-finals of the Japan Open before narrowly defeating Andreeva to clinch the final spot. Rybakina had a lead of more than 400 points over Andreva in the Ningbo game, but Andreva lost the opening round of that tournament and never played again — and Rybakina took advantage of that. It’s been a personally and professionally challenging season for the 2022 Wimbledon champion, but she seems to be peaking at the right time.
Neither Rybakina nor Paolini will have much downtime before the tournament begins, but both bring valuable momentum, confidence and rhythm. Will it be enough to propel either of them to the final title of the year?
two people alone
Dabrowski and Routliff are the defending doubles champions and arrived in Saudi Arabia having won the last major tournament of the year, the U.S. Open. Like Gauff, they will be aiming to regain the title, but the team doesn’t have the same momentum yet. Since then, they have only played together in one tournament, the Beijing Games, where they were eliminated in the first round. Aside from that, their results weren’t that great. Routliff, Gauff’s former doubles partner, reached the second round against Leila Fernandez in Wuhan, while Dombrowski lost in the quarterfinals to Sofia Kenin in Tokyo last week.
As with singles, repeating the title is difficult and hasn’t happened since Babos and Kristina Mladenovic did it in 2018 and 2019. Babos previously won the title alongside Andrea Hlavatsova in 2017, and will now aim for her fourth title with a third partner, Stefani. The pair reached their fourth final of the season in Ningbo earlier this month, becoming one of the last teams to qualify.
But the title may rest with the favorites and top-ranked pair of Italian duo Errani and Paolini, and the overwhelming Sinakova and Townsend. Errani and Paolini won the French Open title in June and have won three 1000-level titles this year, including this month’s China Open.
Szynakova won the WTA Finals trophy in 2021 along with fellow Czech compatriot Barbora Krejcikova. She and Townsend have won two titles together since their victory in Melbourne, including the 1000-level Dubai and reached the final of the US Open. It’s a fitting end to a breakout year for Townsend, who first became No. 1 in the world doubles rankings in July, and has become a fan favorite, reaching the fourth round in singles at the U.S. Open, reaching the mixed doubles final at Roland Garros and winning four titles in six final appearances.
