Defending champion Rybakina’s withdrawal at WTA Finals opens up the field in Indian Wells

World No. 1 Elena Rybakina’s withdrawal from the WTA Finals at Indian Wells because of a viral illness has thrown open the field. Marta Kostyuk has taken Rybakina’s spot in Group 1 and will face Linda Noskova in the tournament’s opening match, in addition to Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula in subsequent round robin matches.

“I am really sad to inform all my fans and supporters that I unfortunately have to withdraw from the WTA Finals this year,” Rybakina had said in a statement. “I’ve had an incredible season, but my body is just not physically ready to compete. I’m going to spend some time resting and recovering at home and getting myself ready for the 2027 season. The WTA Finals is a very special tournament, and I wish everyone the best of luck this week. Can’t wait to be back in Indian Wells in March!”

Rybakina to end season World No.1

Rybakina entered the season’s year-end event as the defending champion, going undefeated at the 2025 edition in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as the last qualifier. This year, Rybakina was the first singles qualifier after winning her third Grand Slam at the US Open, where she also took the No. 1 ranking.

Rybakina finishes her 2026 season on the WTA Tour with a 54-14 record and four titles — Australian Open, Stuttgart, US Open and Ningbo. Despite the withdrawal, she earned the WTA year-end No. 1 singles ranking.

Noskova meets Kostyuk in opener

In the first round, Noskova and Kostyuk will go toe-to-toe to kick off the tournament. They’ve played each other on all three surfaces, with Noskova edging out Kostyuk 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 in their lone hard-court meeting at the US Open fourth round.

Marta Kostyuk will face Linda Noskova in the tournament’s opening match. Pic: Tennis365

On way to her Wimbledon championship, Noskova took the grass meeting in the semifinals, while Kostyuk won the battle on clay on her way to taking the Madrid title. Both of those matches were in straight sets.

“I feel like this year has definitely been a great buildup year, great buildup season for me,” Noskova said in her pre-event press conference. “The results came my way. I was super excited about the grass season, also the clay season, and then the U.S. swing was great for me, as well.”

https://x.com/WTA/status/2119172984405417996?a=VgYkDw_ZzeLcoBcfWG0&s=20

Since that US Open encounter, Kostyuk has only managed to win one match since, her second round at Guadalajara. She last played on the WTA Tour in Ningbo. As for Noskova, she last competed at the Round of 16 in Beijing.

Both players have 35 wins in their 2026 season and are making their debuts at the WTA Finals. “Unbelievable season for me, and I never had a goal to end at WTA Finals,” Kostyuk said.

Gauff takes on friend Pegula

There is plenty of history between the friends and former doubles partners who have split their 10 meetings. The pair were drawn into the same group at last year’s WTA Finals, where Dubai champion Jessica Pegula prevailed in three sets. But Cincinnati champion Coco Gauff has won both of their 2026 encounters, in the Wimbledon quarterfinals and the Cincinnati final.

Gauff discussed that familiarity in her pre-event press conference, adding that it essentially becomes much more of a mental game, given they both know each other’s play styles well.

“When you get to the point where you’ve played someone so many times, that’s where it becomes really more difficult, just because of the fact that you got to capitalize on do things you do well, but also know they’re going to change things, vice versa,” Gauff said.

Coco Gauff will play Jessica Pegula. Pic: X

“When you play somebody so many times, it becomes even more mental because you’re both trying to figure out to go away from your own patterns, because they know your patterns,” she added.

Pegula reflected on both of their 2026 matchups in her press conference, recalling Gauff’s high level in the final two sets at Wimbledon and from the start in Cincinnati. Still, it’s a new matchup and things can change in an instant.

“You never know what’s going to happen out there,” Pegula said. “We know what we’re going to try to do, try and change. We’ll just see when we get out there if we’re able to kind of execute what we want to. If one of us changes or is trying to do something different, how well we can react to that, as well. I think it will be interesting.”

Overall, this marks the fourth consecutive year Gauff and Pegula have met at the year-end championships, with Pegula holding a 2-1 edge in their previous three matchups.