World No. 1 Rybakina withdraws from WTA Finals; Kostyuk steps in

Elena Rybakina, the world number one and defending WTA Finals champion, has withdrawn from the 2026 season-ending tournament in Indian Wells due to medical reasons, the WTA confirmed on 7 November 2026. The 27-year-old Kazakh player stated that despite an exceptional 2026 season, her body was not physically ready to compete. She announced her intention to rest and recover at home before the 2027 season. Rybakina's withdrawal came one day before the tournament was set to begin, and followed her withdrawal from the Pan Pacific Open quarterfinals in Japan the previous week due to a neck injury.

Rybakina has had the most successful season of her career, winning four titles including the Australian Open and the US Open, which secured her year-end world number one ranking—her first time at the top. She finished the season with a 54-14 match record, including 17 of 19 wins in Grand Slam tournaments. Sources highlight her tour-leading serve statistics, with 438 aces in 2026, and 1,775 winners overall. She also recorded 10 wins against fellow top-10 rivals, an unmatched figure on the WTA tour. She holds 15 career WTA singles titles, including Wimbledon in 2022, and was defending her 2025 WTA Finals championship won in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Marta Kostyuk, a Ukrainian player ranked world number 10, has been named as the first alternate replacement and will enter Group 1 alongside Americans Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, and Czech player Linda Noskova, the 2026 Wimbledon champion. Kostyuk will open play on Sunday against Noskova in the first round-robin match. Russian Diana Shnaider is listed as the second alternate should another player withdraw. The WTA Finals runs from 8 to 15 November 2026 at Indian Wells Tennis Garden in California.

Rybakina's withdrawal follows a career-defining season during which she dealt with multiple injuries but maintained her competitive level throughout. She had not played since withdrawing from Japan's Pan Pacific Open with a neck injury. Despite these challenges, she ended Arina Sabalenka's 99-week hold on the world number one ranking after defeating the Belarusian in the US Open final in September. Rybakina will retain her year-end world number one status despite missing the Finals. Player withdrawals from the WTA Finals are not uncommon; Madison Keys withdrew during the tournament in 2025 due to illness.