Aryna Sabalenka exemplified consistency in 2025 and arrives for the November 1-8 tournament having retained her US Open title in September, after finishing runner-up to Madison Keys at the Australian Open and Coco Gauff at Roland Garros.
Elena Rybakina stayed unbeaten at the WTA Finals in Riyadh with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over second alternate Ekaterina Alexandrova on Wednesday after Madison Keys withdrew from their final round robin meeting with illness and Mirra Andreeva was not fit to play.
Elena Rybakina qualified for the WTA Finals' last four, beating an error-prone Iga Swiatek 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 on Monday, while Amanda Anisimova beat fellow American Madison Keys 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in Riyadh.
Elena Rybakina beat world number one Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 7-6(0) in the WTA Finals title clash on Saturday to claim her first trophy in the season-ending championships.
Earlier, Pegula secured a breezy 6-2, 6-3 victory over the already-eliminated Jasmine Paolini and said she would work out a strategy for her next opponent despite knowing there was a slim chance of an exit if Gauff prevailed in three sets.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka overcame Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in a gladiatorial battle between big-hitters on Friday to book a WTA Finals title showdown with Elena Rybakina.
Defending champion Coco Gauff put on a clinical performance to beat Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-2 and eliminate the Italian as she registered her first win at the WTA Finals on Tuesday.
New Melbourne queen Rybakina happy to find highest level again
Sabalenka primed for Rybakina rematch with eyes on third Australian Open crown
Factbox on Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina, who beat Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the Australian Open final to win her second Grand Slam title on Saturday:
Aryna Sabalenka fell 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to Elena Rybakina on Saturday, the Russia-born Kazakh turning the tables on the Belarusian who beat her for the 2023 title.
Elena Rybakina held her nerve to outlast world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in a thrilling Australian Open 2026 women's singles final at Rod Laver Arena on Saturday.
Elina Svitolina was tested by China's Wang Xinyu in the Auckland Open final on Sunday but came through 6-3, 7-6(6) to kick off her new season with her 19th WTA title.
Aryna Sabalenka will aim to take a huge stride towards a third Australian Open title in four years when the Belarusian top seed clashes with Ukraine's Elina Svitolina on Thursday in a semi-final simmering with geopolitical tension.
Aryna Sabalenka swept to her fourth successive Australian Open final with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Ukrainian Elina Svitolina.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka enters the Australian Open in her familiar role as the hot favourite but unlike in the past two years the powerful Belarusian arrives without a title to defend or the momentum of a winning run in Melbourne.
Tough road for defending champion Keys
Top trio eye Grand Slam glory with Sabalenka targeting third Australian Open crown
Iga Swiatek heads into Melbourne Park with the Australian Open title the only gap on her Grand Slam resume, but the world number two is keen to avoid setting herself targets for the new season and says her main goal is to improve her game.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka has been named WTA Player of the Year for the second consecutive season after spending the entire year at the top of the rankings.
No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus had little trouble getting past China's Qinwen Zheng in a group-stage match at the WTA Finals on Saturday, prevailing 6-3, 6-4 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Olympic gold medallist Zheng, making her WTA Finals debut, got off to a great start against the Czech eight seed, with an early break of serve to take a 3-0 lead.
China's Zheng Qinwen reached the semi-finals of the WTA Finals in Riyadh after claiming an impressive 6-1 6-1 win over Italian fourth seed Jasmine Paolini on Wednesday.
While off-court battles over pay and governance rumbled on, opportunities were scarce beyond the duopoly at the top of the men's game, leaving Djokovic to provide the year's standout moments for the chasing pack.
Elena Rybakina rallied from a set down to beat Russian fourth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 and win the Ningbo Open title on Sunday, as her late surge to reach next month's WTA Finals gained momentum.
Gauff split from coach Brad Gilbert and flipped the script weeks later, however, winning her second WTA 1000 title last month at the China Open before reaching the Wuhan Open semis.
World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz came under extreme pressure before overcoming American Taylor Fritz 6-7(2), 7-5, 6-3 in a thrilling round-robin match at the ATP Finals on Tuesday, leaving the Spaniard on two wins from two.
Aryna Sabalenka's return to top spot in the WTA rankings after leapfrogging Iga Swiatek has set up a thrilling end to the season, with next month's WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia likely to prove decisive in the race to end the year as world number one.
World No. 3 Coco Gauff and No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland won their respective opening matches of the Orange Group at the WTA Finals Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.
The world number closed out the victory despite a few service wobbles late on, improving her win-loss record against Rybakina to 8-5.
China's Zheng Qinwen beat a struggling Elena Rybakina 7-6(4) 3-6 6-1 in a grueling WTA Finals group stage match on Monday, notching her first career win over the Kazakh in their third meeting.
Coco Gauff beat defending champion Iga Swiatek 6-3 6-4 at the WTA Finals in Riyadh on Tuesday to reach the semi-finals and ensure Aryna Sabalenka would finish the year as world number one.
Two-time US Open singles champion Venus Williams has received a wildcard entry into this year's tournament, organisers said on Wednesday, as the 45-year-old American continues her age-defying return to the court.
Iga Swiatek, who beat American 13th seed Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in the Wimbledon final on Saturday to win her sixth Grand Slam title.
The season-ending WTA Finals will be held in Guadalajara, Mexico instead of Shenzhen, China this year and will begin on Nov. 8, the WTA Tour said on Monday.
Factbox on American second seed Coco Gauff, who defeated Belarusian world number one Aryna Sabalenka
Karolina Pliskova overcame a slow start before beating Garbie Muguruza 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6) in her opening match at the WTA Finals. In a contest between two former No. 1-ranked players, the third-seeded Pliskova struggled early adjusting to the nearly 5,000-feet altitude of Guadalajara, Mexico's second largest city on Wednesday.
Paula Badosa overcame a slow start to take down Belarusian top seed Aryna Sabalenka after Maria Sakkari continued her dominance of Iga Swiatek in the round-robin stage of the WTA Finals in Guadalajara, Mexico on Thursday.
Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska moved within one win of securing a place at the WTA Finals after thrashing Czech Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-1 in the semi-finals of the Tianjin Open on Saturday.
ATP, WTA cancel China events, including Shenzen Finals
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