Illness ends the world No. 1’s season
Elena Rybakina will not play the WTA Finals. A viral illness has forced the world No. 1 out of the season-ending event, which starts Sunday in Indian Wells, California.
“I am really sad to inform all my fans and supporters that I unfortunately have to withdraw from the WTA Finals this year,” Rybakina said in a statement. She said her body was “just not physically ready to compete” and that she will rest and recover at home before 2027. She also said she cannot wait to be back in Indian Wells in March.
It is a painful way to end a season that included the Australian Open and US Open titles, her second and third majors. She also won in Stuttgart and Ningbo in 2026.
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Kostyuk comes in as the alternate
Marta Kostyuk takes the vacant place. The Ukrainian is ranked 10th in the world and arrives with the best Grand Slam results of her career: semi-finals at the French Open and Wimbledon this summer. She won titles in Rouen and Madrid earlier in the year.
Rybakina had won this event last time out. When it was held in Riyadh in 2025, she beat Aryna Sabalenka in the final. The Kazakhstani’s absence means the trophy will have a new holder by the end of the week.
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