Aryna Sabalenka is set to begin her journey at the 2026 WTA Finals on Monday afternoon.
Under the glare of the Californian sun, Sabalenka will take to the court alongside Roland Garros and Wimbledon finalist Karolina Muchova.
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Sabalenka, now the highest-seeded player in the event following Elena Rybakina’s withdrawal, is certainly the favourite heading into Monday’s contest.
However, Brad Gilbert believes an upset could be on the cards.
Brad Gilbert says he would not be shocked if Karolina Muchova defeats Aryna Sabalenka at the WTA Finals
“I think too, heat will be a little bit of a factor. Muchova, I think if she can extend some points – Sabalenka does such a good job in the quick points – and if she [Muchova] all of a sudden can extend the points a little bit and maybe use her inside-out forehand, get in, I think this one is going to be a tight match,” Gilbert, the former coach of Andre Agassi and Coco Gauff, said on the Big T Podcast while talking to former world number nine Andrea Petkovic.
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“And I would not be shocked to see her win,” Gilbert said of Muchova. “Because I feel like Sabalenka hasn’t been the same player since she lost that match at Madrid to Baptiste – the six match points.”
Gilbert is referring the Sabalenka’s stunning loss to American Hailey Baptiste in the 2026 Madrid Open quarter-finals.
Sabalenka wasted six match-point opportunities against the American before losing 6-2, 2-6, 6-7.
In the months that followed, Sabalenka suffered numerous high-profile collapses, including against Diana Shnaider in the Roland Garros quarter-finals and against Jessica Pegula in the Berlin open semi-finals.
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“She’s lost a lot of leads, and I think players… once you lose that air of invincibility, players start coming on the court with a different attitude,” Gilbert continued.
WTA Finals Group Two
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Aryna Sabalenka [2]
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Mirra Andreeva [3]
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Elina Svitolina [6]
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Karolina Muchova [7]
“They’re like, ‘you know what? I don’t have to red line now to beat you. If I play my normal game [I can beat you].’
“Also, Sabalenka all of a sudden, you’re seeing her now getting frustrated on the court. I think that is a very open match. If it was a [American] football game, I would say Sabalenka maybe a 2.5 favourite.”
Aryna Sabalenka’s WTA Finals record
Sabalenka made her WTA Finals debut in 2021.
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The Belarusian star failed to advance past the round-robin phase, despite being the top seed at the event. Sabalenka lost two of her three matches in the group stage, falling flat against Paula Badosa and Maria Sakkari.
A year later, Sabalenka advanced the final of the WTA Finala after beating Ons Jabeur, Jessica Pegula and Iga Swiatek.
Seventh seed Caroline Garcia stopped Sabalenka in her tracks, winning the final 7-6, 6-4.
Sabalenka went on to make back-to-back semi-final appearances in 2023 and 2024, losing to Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff, respectively.
Sabalenka again reached the final in 2025, defeating Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Jasmine Paolini and Amanda Anisimova en route.
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A rampant Elena Rybakina ended Sabalenka’s dreams of a first WTA Finals title, triumphing 6-3, 7-6 in the final.
Aryna Sabalenka’s tournament results at the WTA Finals
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2021 – Round robin
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2022 – Runner-up
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2023 – Semi-finals
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2024 – Semi-finals
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2025 – Runner-up
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2026 – ?
With Rybakina absent, Sabalenka is certainly the favourite to win the 2026 WTA Finals. Who can prevent the Belarusian from doing so?
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
