Rybakina withdraws from WTA Finals with viral infection, Kostyuk takes her place

Elena Rybakina, the world number one in women’s tennis, has withdrawn from the WTA Finals, the tournament that closes the season and brings together the eight best players of the year. The Kazakh player, the defending champion, announced the decision on Saturday, November 7; the official reason is a viral infection.¹²³ The tournament is played in Indian Wells, California, and begins on Sunday. Rybakina will be replaced by Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.⁴³

What Rybakina said

In her statement the player writes that she is “truly sorry” and that she has had an incredible season, but that her body is “not physically ready” to compete. She will spend a period of rest and recovery at home, to prepare for the 2027 season.⁵³ Rybakina added that the WTA Finals is a very special tournament and that she can’t wait to return to Indian Wells in March.³ The tournament director, Garbine Muguruza, said she spoke with her on Saturday: Rybakina was not able to recover in time. According to Muguruza, the player had not been feeling well even in Tokyo.²

Who takes her place

Kostyuk comes in as first alternate and takes Rybakina’s place in Group 1. She will open the tournament on Sunday against the Czech Linda Noskova, then face the Americans Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula in the following matches of the round-robin, the format in which every player in the group meets the others.³⁶ Kostyuk was already in Indian Wells and was training when the withdrawal came. For her it is a debut at the WTA Finals, after a season in which she won the Madrid tournament and broke into the top ten.² Noskova is also making her WTA Finals debut. Both have 35 wins in 2026 and it will be their fourth meeting of the season; at Flushing Meadows, in the round of 16 of the US Open, Noskova won 7-5, 5-7, 6-4.⁶

Rybakina’s season

Rybakina arrived at Indian Wells as the defending champion: in 2025 she had won in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, without losing a match, after qualifying last. In 2026 she was the first singles player to qualify.³ With her win at the US Open she took the third Slam of her career and the number one ranking. Her season ends with 54 wins and 14 losses and four titles: the Australian Open, Stuttgart, the US Open and Ningbo.⁴³ Her season had been affected by injuries: before the US Open she had picked up a leg problem in Cincinnati, while last month in Tokyo she withdrew from the quarter-finals with a neck problem.⁵² Despite the withdrawal, the WTA states that Rybakina finished the year at number one in the singles ranking, a milestone she had already reached in Tokyo.³

What changes

The tournament loses its leading player, but the format stays as planned: eight players split into two groups, with Kostyuk in Rybakina’s place in Group 1.²³

This article was written by artificial intelligence from the sources cited, without human review. Automatic newsroom by Redazia.

Sources

Footnotes

1. World No 1 Elena Rybakina out before WTA Finals begin, with Marta Kostyuk stepping in, South China Morning Post, 2026-11-08 ↩

2. Rybakina withdrawal a blow but WTA Finals field remains strong, says Muguruza, CNA, 2026-11-08 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

3. Elena Rybakina withdraws from 2026 WTA Finals at Indian Wells with viral illness, wtatennis.com ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

4. Rybakina causa baja en las Finales de la WTA y Kostyuk ocupará su lugar, Infobae, 2026-11-07 ↩ ↩²

5. Rybakina pulls out of WTA Finals due to fitness concerns, CNA, 2026-11-07 ↩ ↩²

6. WTA Finals Day 1 preview: Gauff, Pegula set for all-American battle at Indian Wells, wtatennis.com ↩ ↩²