After a riveting season full of dominant superstars, the emergence of some emerging young players and a few surprise winners, 2025 was a year to remember on the WTA Tour.
But it’s not over yet.
While many players have already hit the beach for some well-deserved (and all-too-brief) rest and relaxation, the best of the best remain in action and have their sights set on winning the final title of the year at the WTA Finals.
The competition, which is being played (somewhat controversially) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, kicks off on Saturday with round-robin play and features the top eight singles and eight doubles teams – with a total of $15.5 million in prize money.
After six days, with each player or duo playing three matches, the top two from their respective groups will advance to the semi-finals. The event concludes on November 8, with the singles champion earning up to $5.235 million in prize money, and the winning doubles team up to $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 group matches. Both earn less if they do not remain undefeated.)
Not sure what to expect from the final WTA tournament of the year? Here’s everything you need to know.
Who’s inside?
Singles
Stefanie Graf Group
1. Aryna Sabalenka
3. Coco Gauff
5. Jessica Pegula
7. Jasmine Paolini
Serena Williams group
2. Iga Swiatek
4. Amanda Anisimova
6. Madison Keys
8. Elena Rybakina
Double
Martina Navratilova group
1. Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini
4. Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens
6. Su-week and Jelena Ostainko
8. Asia Muhammad and Demi Schuurs
Liezel Huber Group
2. Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend
3. Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe
5. Mirra Andreeva and Diana Schneider
7. Timea Babos and Luisa Stefani
Gauff seems to repeat
It’s been an up-and-down season for Gauff, the world No. 3 and top-ranked American. The 21-year-old won her second major singles title at the French Open but suffered some devastating lows, including issues with her serve and a change in coaching team just before the US Open.
Gauff is back in Riyadh as defending champion and appears to have rediscovered her form and confidence at the right time. After a challenging hard-court season in the summer, including a fourth-round exit in New York, Gauff trained at home in Florida for a few weeks before heading to China. Although she later admitted that she had considered skipping the Asian swing altogether, her hard work and perseverance paid off. Gauff reached the semi-finals at the China Open and then won the title in Wuhan earlier this month, beating Paolini in the semi-finals and Pegula in the final. She didn’t drop a set during her run to the 1000-level trophy.
“This definitely gives me a lot more confidence going into the WTA Finals after the way the mid-season went for me, especially in New York,” Gauff said after the win in Wuhan.
“It gives me a lot of confidence to try and defend that title. Obviously winning the title last year, I know how difficult it is to do it, so I’m going to take it one match at a time and hopefully I can finish with the trophy.”
While Gauff is certainly among the favorites to win the title, it won’t be easy. In fact, no player has successfully defended their title at the year-end event since Serena Williams did so in 2013 and 2014.
American dominance
With Anisimova, Pegula and Keys also qualifying, Americans make up half of the singles field in Saudi Arabia. It’s the most Americans to attend the prestigious event since 2003, months before Gauff was born. (And because Serena, Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport all withdrew that year due to injuries, this is expected to be the largest American contingent to actually compete since 2002, when there were 16 players in the field.)
Anisimova, now ranked fourth in her career, will make her debut at the event after reaching her first major final at Wimbledon, then following it up with a final appearance at the US Open, in addition to winning 1000-level titles at the Qatar Open and the China Open.
Pegula qualified for the fourth season in a row and has had a strong final part of the year, reaching the semi-finals at the US Open and the China Open and the final in Wuhan. She was a finalist at the year-end championships in 2023.
And Keys, who won her first major title to open 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 stunning first-round exit at the US Open in August and has not reached another final since her victory in Melbourne, but Keys should be well rested and there may be no one left capable of pulling off a surprise victory.
The Americans are also well represented in doubles. Townsend makes her second consecutive appearance after reaching the finals in 2024 and Muhammad makes her debut at the event. Both have had strong seasons, with Townsend winning the Australian Open, while Siniakova and Muhammad won Indian Wells and Queen’s Club alongside Schuurs.
The race for number 1
After Swiatek won Wimbledon, and even after exiting the US Open in the quarterfinals, it looked like she would have a chance to regain her No. 1 ranking from Sabalenka by the end of the year. When she claimed the title at the Korea Open in September and Sabalenka took a break from competition, it seemed even more possible as Swiatek closed the gap to below 3,000 points for the first time all season. Although she said this was not her “main focus” ahead of the China Open, she did not deny how much clinching the top spot would mean to her.
But after a round of 16 exit in Beijing and a quarterfinal loss in Wuhan (and a semifinal defeat to 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 surpass Sabalenka. Whatever happens in Riyadh, Sabalenka will end the season as year-end No. 1 for the second season in a row – having held the top spot all season.
Despite having already completed that, 27-year-old Sabalenka is still looking for her first WTA Finals crown. This is her fifth consecutive appearance and she reached the final in 2022, but was never able to capture the elusive title. There may be no one more consistent at the biggest events in recent years – she reached the finals at the Australian Open and the French Open this year and the semi-finals at Wimbledon this year, in addition to her victory in New York – and she may be hungrier than ever for that.
But of course, Swiatek, the 2023 champion, will also be looking to end her season in a big way – and put Sabalenka on high alert ahead of the start of 2026.
It’s not how you start
While the likes of Sabalenka and Swiatek secured their places in the summer, Paolini and Rybakina needed late attacks to claim the final spots.
Paolini, who had already qualified for the doubles draw, punched her ticket after reaching consecutive semi-finals in Beijing and Wuhan. She won the title at the Italian Open earlier this spring and reached the final in Cincinnati. She is the only player to have made both draws in Riyadh.
And Rybakina took the last spot last week, narrowly beating Andreeva, after winning the title in Ningbo and reaching the semi-finals at the Japan Open. Rybakina had Andreeva ahead of Ningbo by over 400 points, but Andreeva lost her opening round match at that event and didn’t play again – and Rybakina took advantage. It has been a challenging season for the 2022 Wimbledon champion, both personally and professionally, but she appears to be peaking at the right time.
While neither Rybakina nor Paolini will have much downtime before the tournament starts, they both bring valuable momentum, confidence and rhythm. Could it be enough to propel either of them to the final title of the year?
Two for one
Dabrowski and Routliffe are the defending doubles champions and arrive in Saudi Arabia after winning the final major of the year at the US Open. Like Gauff, they want to regain their title, but they don’t quite have the same momentum on their side. They have played only one tournament together since then, in Beijing, losing in the first round. Individually, they haven’t done much better. Routliffe, a one-time doubles partner of Gauff, reached the second round with Leylah Fernandez in Wuhan, and Dabrowski fell in the quarterfinals with Sofia Kenin in Tokyo last week.
Just like in singles, repeating as champion is difficult and that hasn’t been done since Babos and Kristina Mladenovic did so in 2018 and 2019. Babos also won the title in 2017 alongside Andrea Hlavackova and will now be looking for her fourth title with a third partner in Stefani. The pair were among the last to qualify after reaching their fourth final of the season in Ningbo earlier this month.
But the title could well come down to the two favorites and top-ranked pairs: the Italian duo of Errani and Paolini and the dominant Siniakova and Townsend. Errani and Paolini won the French Open title in June, as well as three titles at 1000 level this year, including at the China Open this month.
Siniakova won the 2021 WTA Finals trophy with compatriot Barbora Krejcikova. She and Townsend have won two titles together since their victory in Melbourne, including at the 1000 level Dubai, and reached the final at the US Open. For Townsend – who captured the world No. 1 doubles ranking for the first time in July – it would be a fitting end to a breakthrough year in which she became a fan favorite by reaching the fourth round of the US Open in singles, reaching the mixed doubles final at the French Open and winning four titles in six final appearances.
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