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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Aryna Sabalenka defeated Elena Rybakina to reach the Miami Open final, where she will face Coco Gauff, who defeated Karolina Muchova.
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 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.
Czech Republic's Linda Noskova defeated American Jessica Pegula 6-4 4-6 6-3 to win her first grasscourt title at the Berlin Open, marking her second WTA singles title and setting her up to break into the top 10.
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.
Wimbledon 2026 begins on Monday, and the women's singles draw is once again stacked with star power, form questions, and rising challengers all chasing the same prize.
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.
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.
Serena Williams' highly anticipated comeback in doubles at the Queen's Club WTA event has been temporarily halted after her partner, Victoria Mboko, withdrew due to a knee injury sustained during a singles match. Williams, who had won her first match with Mboko, is expected to continue her return to tennis in Berlin next week and might seek a Wimbledon wildcard.
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.
Sunday's title match will mark the third final between Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka in the last six months
Mirra Andreeva overcame a late challenge from Hailey Baptiste to win their semi-final match and advance to the Madrid Open final.
Gael Monfils brought the party to Roland Garros on Thursday, teaming up with his wife Elina Svitolina to win a lively, star-studded exhibition match as he prepared for his final appearance at his home Grand Slam.
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.
From proven champions seeking to cement their legacy to hungry contenders chasing a maiden major crown, Roland Garros opens its gates to a field brimming with intrigue.
Iga Swiatek plans to simplify her tennis strategy after a surprising defeat to Magda Linette at the Miami Open, marking her first opening loss in a WTA tournament since 2021.
Czech Lucie Safarova took the final qualifying spot for the end-of-season WTA Finals after Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro was knocked out of the Kremlin Cup quarter-finals on Thursday.
American tennis great Serena Williams has been granted a wildcard to play singles at this year's Wimbledon, marking her highly anticipated return to the tournament after a four-year absence.
Tennis legend Serena Williams made a winning return to competitive tennis at the Queen's Club WTA event, nearly four years after her last match.
ATP, WTA cancel China events, including Shenzen Finals
Justina Mikulskyte won the ITF W35 Tumakuru Open after Zuzanna Pawlikowska retired due to injury in the final.
Elena Rybakina defeated Mirra Andreeva to reach the Stuttgart Open final, where she will face Karolina Muchova. Rybakina displayed aggressive play, while Muchova overcame Elina Svitolina in a three-set match.
Top seeds Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis continued their rampaging form and recorded a straight set victory in their opening match of the year-ending $7 million WTA Finals in Singapore.
World No. 4 Coco Gauff expresses concern over civilian casualties amid the Iran conflict, as the crisis disrupts tennis events in the Middle East and strands players in Dubai.
The WTA has backed players' demands for greater privacy at tournaments after footage of Coco Gauff smashing her racket off court at the Australian Open sparked debate over camera use in player areas.
The claycourts of Roland Garros were transformed into a complex geopolitical chessboard on Tuesday as they produced a French Open semi-final lineup featuring a number of emotionally charged matches in the shadow of Russia's war in Ukraine.
World number one Novak Djokovic saw off Canadian Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 6-4 to win his fifth Paris Masters title on Sunday in a warning to his rivals ahead of the ATP Finals, while Ashleigh Barty finished the season in style by beating defending champion Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-3 to add the WTA Finals title to her end-of-year world number one rank.ing
The Finals, contested by the world's top eight singles players and eight doubles teams, was moved out of China's Shenzhen after last year's event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
