Defending champion Elena Rybakina has lost only two of her last 22 matches
Second seed Aryna Sabalenka has lost three of her last four outings
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The WTA Tour season reaches its conclusion in Indian Wells as the eight highest-ranked players in the women's game do battle at the WTA Finals.
The eight-day tournament, which gets underway on Sunday, sees the players split into two round-robin groups of four, with the top two from each section advancing to the semi-finals.
World number one Elena Rybakina is the defending champion and she has been housed in a group alongside American aces Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula as well as Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova.
Last year’s runner-up Aryna Sabalenka, now the world number two, takes on Mirra Andreeva, Elina Svitolina and Karolina Muchova in her bid to win the season-ending finale for the first time.
Iga Swiatek, champion in 2023, narrowly missed out on qualification as the world number nine while Marta Kostyuk, Diana Shnaider and Naomi Osaka are three other high-profile performers that failed to make the cut.
The latest WTA Tour Finals odds are available on LiveScore Bet
Winning machine Rybakina hold the aces
No player has won the WTA Tour Finals in back-to-back seasons since Serena Williams made it a hat-trick of victories in 2014, but Rybakina may be able to end that hoodoo.
Rybakina has two talented American players in Gauff and Pegula, who will be buoyed by home support, in her group, while Noskova has been a model of consistency since claiming her maiden Grand Slam crown at Wimbledon in July.
But Gauff may not be in the same form as she was when she won this title in 2024 and Pegula, runner-up to Swiatek in 2023, tends to fall short at the final hurdle.
Meanwhile, this is a first appearance in the competition for 21-year-old Noskova and she may come on considerably for the outing.
Rybakina turned world number one for the first time in her career in October and she has been the star performer all season, headlined by Grand Slam wins at the Australian Open and the US equivalent.
The top seed was forced to withdraw prior to her quarter-final clash with Leylah Fernandez in Tokyo due to a neck injury but reports suggest that is under control and she has lost only two of her last 22 completed matches.
Rybakina has a positive head-to-head record against all three of her group rivals and she should have little to fear in the knockout stages against Sabalenka, who looks way below her peak.
Back Elena Rybakina to win WTA Tour Finals @ 12/5
The latest WTA Tour Finals odds are available on LiveScore Bet
Sabalenka looking vulnerable
Sabalenka was beaten in three sets by Rybakina in the US Open final in September and she has subsequently struggled since losing her world number one status.
The Belarusian suffered a shock 6-4 6-3 defeat to Nikola Bartunkova in the third round in Beijing at the start of October before falling at the first hurdle in Wuhan to Ann Li.
Given that Sabalenka has yet to win the WTA Tour Finals in her career and has often arrived in better form, she looks worth opposing as group favourite.
Svitolina and Muchova are two consistent rivals but they may lack the star quality of Andreeva, who won her maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open in 2026.
The teenager has a high ceiling and her runner-up effort in Beijing last month suggests that she heads to Indian Wells operating at the peak of her powers.
Andreeva knows she has the ability to beat Sabalenka, having done so in their last meeting at this venue, and she may be Rybakina’s biggest obstacle.
Back Mirra Andreeva to win Group 2 @ 11/4
The latest WTA Tour Finals odds are available on LiveScore Bet
