Elena Rybakina will not be playing at the WTA Finals this year, despite being the world number one.
Rybakina has enjoyed the best season of her career in 2026, winning two Grand Slam titles and subsequently dethroning Aryna Sabalenka as the world number one.
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As a result of her impressive year, many including Martina Navratilova had predicted Rybakina to win the WTA Finals, where she was also the defending champion.
Rybakina will now be unable to do this, as she has officially withdrawn from the WTA Finals due to a ‘medical issue’, becoming just the fifth world number one in history to have missed the year-end tournament.
Elena Rybakina is one of five world number ones not to play the WTA Finals
The WTA Finals is the final tournament on the WTA calendar, as it hosts and celebrates the top eight players from the year. This obviously includes world number one Rybakina, but she will now not be competing in Indian Wells.
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Rybakina is one of five world number ones not to play the WTA Finals, with Chris Evert missing three editions of the event for scheduling reasons in 1978, 1981 and 1982. Two of the years Evert missed the tournament saw her great rival Navratilova win the title, while in 1982 there was a surprise champion as German player Sylvia Hanika won the WTA Finals.
It was 33 years until the next time the world number one did not play the WTA Finals, as three-time defending champion Serena Williams withdrew from the 2015 event due to injury. Agnieszka Radwanska would go on to win the title, while Williams would never play the WTA Finals again.
Simona Halep also missed the WTA Finals as world number one in 2018 due to a back injury, as Elina Svitolina took advantage by going on to win the title. Svitolina is back at the WTA Finals this year, and will be hoping for a similar outcome after Rybakina’s withdrawal.
The most recent world number one to miss the WTA Finals before Rybakina was Ash Barty, who chose not to play the tournament for scheduling reasons related to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. That year saw Garbine Muguruza, who is now the WTA Finals tournament director, go on to win the final title of her career in Guadalajara.
|
World number one’s who did not play the WTA Finals |
Reason for withdrawal |
Champion |
|
Chris Evert (1978,1981 & 1982) |
Scheduling choices |
1978 – Martina Navratilova |
|
Serena Williams (2015) |
Injuries |
Agnieszka Radwanska |
|
Simona Halep (2018) |
Back injury |
Elina Svitolina |
|
Ash Barty (2021) |
Scheduling choices |
Garbine Muguruza |
|
Elena Rybakina (2026) |
Illness |
Tournament not yet played |
It is yet to be known who will take advantage of Rybakina’s withdrawal, with Marta Kostyuk taking her place as an alternate.
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Has an alternate ever won the WTA Finals before?
Kostyuk is now confirmed to be in the WTA Finals, where she will be making her debut at the event. Kostyuk has enjoyed the best season of her career in 2026, and she will be hoping to fare better than previous alternates.
There have been 11 players who have competed as alternates at the WTA Finals, but none of them have ever made it out of their round-robin group. This includes the aforementioned Radwanska replacing another alternate in Vera Zvonareva at the 2009 WTA Finals.
Radwanska had a positive record in both of her appearances as an alternate at the WTA Finals, alongside Marion Bartoli in 2011, but neither player had enough matches to advance from their groups. This is something that Kostyuk does have on her side, as she is the first alternate to be able to play three matches like the rest of the WTA Finals participants.
|
WTA Finals alternate |
Result |
|
Marion Bartoli (2007) – replaced Serena Williams |
Round-robin (1-1) |
|
Agnieszka Radwanska (2008) – replaced Ana Ivanovic |
Round-robin (1-0) |
|
Nadia Petrova (2008) – replaced Serena Williams |
Round-robin (0-1) |
|
Vera Zvonareva (2009) – replaced Dinara Safina |
Round-robin (0-1) |
|
Agnieszka Radwanska (2009) – replaced Vera Zvonareva |
Round-robin (1-0) |
|
Marion Bartoli (2011) – replaced Maria Sharapova |
Round-robin (1-0) |
|
Sam Stosur (2012) – replaced Petra Kvitova |
Round-robin (0-2) |
|
Kiki Bertens (2019) – replaced Naomi Osaka |
Round-robin (1-1) |
|
Sofia Kenin (2019) – replaced Bianca Andreescu |
Round-robin (0-1) |
|
Daria Kasatkina (2024) – replaced Jessica Pegula |
Round-robin (0-1) |
|
Ekaterina Alexandrova (2025) – replaced Madison Keys |
Round-robin (0-1) |
Kostyuk will jump in straight away to take Rybakina’s place, with her first match taking place on Sunday, November 8 against Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova. Kostyuk and Noskova are both part of Group 1 alongside Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula.
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If any other players withdraw from this year’s WTA Finals then it will be Diana Shnaider who steps in to replace them.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
