After a compelling season filled with major superstars, the rise of some emerging young players and some surprise winners, 2025 was a memorable year on the WTA Tour.
But it is not over yet.
While many players have already made their way to the beach for some much-deserved (and very brief) rest and relaxation, the best of the best remain in action and have their sights set on winning the last title of the year at the WTA Finals.
played (somewhat controversial) In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the competition begins with round-robin play on Saturday, and will feature the top eight singles players and eight doubles teams – with a total prize money of $15.5 million.
After six days, the top two from their respective groups advance to the semi-finals, with each player or pair playing three matches. The event will conclude on November 8, with the singles champion earning up to $5.235 million in prize money, and the winning doubles team earning a maximum of $1.139 million and up to 1,500 in ranking points. (The winning player or team can earn the maximum amount of money and points by winning all three of their group matches. Both earn less if they do not remain undefeated.)
Not sure what to expect from the last WTA tournament of the year? Here’s everything you need to know.
who is inside
single
Stephanie Graff Group
3. coco goff
serena williams group
2. inga swiatek
6. madison keys
gets doubled
martina navratilova group
1. Sara Irani and jasmine paolini
4. Veronika Kudermetova And alice mertens
6. Su-Wei Hsieh And Jelena Ostapenko
8. Asiya Muhammad And Demi Schuurs
Liesel Huber Group
2. katerina siniakova And taylor townsend
3. gabriela dabrowski And Erin Routliff
5. mira andreeva And Diana Schneider
7. Timea Babos And louisa stephanie
Gauff wants to repeat
It has been an up-and-down season for Gauff, the world number three and top-ranked American. The 21-year-old won her second major singles title at the French Open, but had some very bad moments, including struggles with her serve and changing her coaching team just before the US Open.
Gauff is back in Riyadh as the defending champion and looks to have rediscovered her form and confidence at the right time. After a challenging summer hard-court season, which included a fourth-round exit in New York, Gauff spent a few weeks training at home in Florida before traveling to China. Although she later confessed that she had considered giving up Asian swing altogether, her hard work and persistence paid off. Gauff reached the semi-finals of the China Open and then won the title in Wuhan earlier this month, defeating Paolini in the semi-finals and Pegula in the final. He did not drop a single set during his race for the 1000 level trophy.
“After the way the middle part of the season went for me, especially in New York, it definitely gives me a lot of confidence going into the WTA Finals,” Gauff said after her win in Wuhan.
“It gives me a lot of confidence to try to defend that title. Obviously, winning it last year, I know how hard it is to do, so I’m going to take it match by match and hopefully I can finish with the trophy.”
Although Gauff is certainly one of the favorites to win the title, doing so will not be easy. In fact, no player has successfully defended their year-end title since then. serena williams Did this in 2013 and 2014.
American dominance
With Anisimova, Pegula and Keys also qualifying, the Americans make up half of the singles field in Saudi Arabia. This is the most Americans to participate in the prestigious event since 2003, a few months before Gauff was born. (And because Serena, venus williams And lindsay davenport With everyone withdrawing that year due to injuries, it is expected to mark the largest American contingent to actually compete since 2002, when 16 players were in the field.)
Anisimova, now ranked her career-high No. 4, will make her debut at the event after reaching her first major final at Wimbledon and following that up with 1000-level titles at the Qatar Open and China Open, as well as a final at the US Open.
Pegula qualified for the fourth consecutive season and had strong performances in the latter half of the year, reaching the semi-finals of the US Open and China Open and the final in Wuhan. She was a 2023 finalist at the year-end championships.
And Keys, who won her first major title to start the year at the Australian Open, returns to the tournament for the first time since 2016. The 30-year-old has not played since her surprise exit in the first round of the US Open in August and has not reached another final since her win in Melbourne, but Keys should be well rested and perhaps no one is more capable of pulling off a surprise win.
Americans are also well represented in the doubles draw. Townsend is making his second consecutive appearance after reaching the final in 2024 and Muhammad is making his debut at the event. Both have had good seasons, with Townsend winning the Australian Open, Siniakova and Muhammad winning Indian Wells and Queen’s Club with Schuster.
race for number 1
After Swiatek won Wimbledon, and also had a quarterfinal exit at the US Open, it looked as if she might have a chance to regain her No. 1 ranking from Sabalenka by the end of the year. When she won the title at the Korea Open in September and Sabalenka took a break from competition, it looked even more possible as Swiatek closed the gap below 3,000 points for the first time all season. Although she said it was not her “main focus” ahead of the China Open, she did not deny how much achieving the top ranking would mean to her.
But after a round of 16 exit in Beijing and a quarterfinal loss in Wuhan (and a semi-final run by Sabalenka in her first tournament since winning the US Open), there is a 1,675-point deficit between the two, making it mathematically impossible for Swiatek to overtake Sabalenka. No matter what happens in Riyadh, Sabalenka will finish the season as the year-end No. 1 for the second consecutive season – and has held the top spot for the entire season.
Yet, despite all that has been accomplished, the 27-year-old Sabalenka is still searching for her first WTA Finals title. This is her fifth consecutive appearance, and she reached the final in 2022, but never managed to capture the elusive title. Perhaps no one has been more consistent than her at the biggest events in recent years – she reached the finals of the Australian Open and the French Open and the semi-finals of Wimbledon this year in addition to her victory in New York – and she may be hungrier than ever for it.
But of course, 2023 champion Swiatek will also be looking to end her season on a high – and keep Sabalenka on high alert heading into 2026.
That’s not how you start out
While players like Sabalenka and Swiatek secured their places over the summer, Paolini and Rybakina needed a late surge to claim the final spots.
Paolini, who had already qualified for the doubles draw, booked her ticket by reaching consecutive semi-finals in Beijing and Wuhan. She had earlier won the Italian Open title in the spring and reached the final in Cincinnati. She is the only player to draw both the matches in Riyadh.
And after winning the title in Ningbo and reaching the semi-finals at the Japan Open, Rybakina defeated Andreeva by a narrow margin to reach the final just last week. Rybakina trailed Andreeva by more than 400 points heading into Ningbo, but Andreeva lost her opening round match at that event and did not play again – and Rybakina took advantage. It’s been a challenging season personally and professionally for the 2022 Wimbledon champion, but she looks to be peaking at the right time.
Although neither Rybakina nor Paolini will have much free time before the tournament starts, they both bring valuable speed, confidence and rhythm. Could this be enough to propel one of them to the final title of the year?
two for one
Dabrowski and Routliff are the defending doubles champions and arrive in Saudi Arabia after winning the final major title of the year at the US Open. Like Gauff, he would also like to regain his title, but his team does not have the same rhythm. Since then they have played together in only one tournament, in Beijing, and lost in the first round. Separately, they haven’t fared much better. Routliff, Gauff’s one-time doubles partner, reaches second round in Wuhan Leyla Fernandezand Dabrowski lost in the quarterfinals Sophia Kenin Just last week in Tokyo.
As in singles, repeating as champion is difficult and has not been done since Babos kristina mladenovic Did this in 2018 and 2019. Babos also won the title in 2017 Andrea Hlavakova And now she will try to win her fourth title with her third partner in the form of Stephanie. The pair were among the last players to qualify after reaching their fourth final of the season in Ningbo earlier this month.
But the title could go to two favorites and top-ranked pairs: Italian pair Errani and Paolini and dominant Siniakova and Townsend. Errani and Paolini won the French Open title in June, as well as three 1000-level titles this year, including this month’s China Open.
Siniakova wins WTA Finals trophy in 2021 with fellow Czech compatriot barbora krajickovaSince her victory in Melbourne, she and Townsend have won two titles together, including 1000-tier Dubai, and reached the final of the US Open. For Townsend – who achieved the world No. 1 doubles ranking for the first time in July – it would be a fitting end to a breakout year, having become a fan favorite by reaching the fourth round of the US Open in singles, reaching the French Open mixed doubles final, and winning four titles in six finals.
