PREVIEW WTA Finals: Sabalenka, Swiatek, Gauff among the best women in the world targeting glory in Riyadh

The conclusion of the 2025 season is just around the corner, but there is still one big tournament in need of completing. The WTA Finals in Riyadh will be played from November 1-8, 2025 with the best women players in the world ready to take to the court one final time.

Once again it is a very strong lineup, with the usual drama served in the race to Riyadh. Mirra Andreeva looked an almost certainty for qualification, but was just pipped by Jasmine Paolini and Elena Rybakina thanks to a late surge in the Asian swing. It was a lot more comfortable for the top two players in the world Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek. They will be joined by four Americans going by Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula.

Gauff is the reigning champion, and traverses to the Middle East with a mission on her mind: to regain her title. Aside from her and Swiatek, no one else in this field have tasted the coveted success of becoming the champion in this prestigious event.

The first group, named after 22-time Grand Slam champion Steffi Graf, features Sabalenka, Gauff, Pegula and Paolini. Already the standout is the 2022 finalist Sabalenka, who again has enjoyed another consistent year which has seen her keep ahead of the rest in the number one ranking spot.

The Belarusian comes into the tournament after only playing one event on the Asian swing in Wuhan. She had a 100% record the prior three times she played there, but her incredible streak was ruined by Pegula in the semi-finals. This could be classed as possible revenge for the last four defeat in the US Open, in which Sabalenka went on to win for the second time. This momentum will be key for her when going to Riyadh. She will be the favourite to come out of the group due to her hardcourt prowess, aided by her previous form in this competition. In her last three Finals, she has reaced the semis twice and the final.

If we are on the topic of momentum, then we need to talk about Gauff, who has turned her season around. After triumphing at Roland Garros for her second Grand Slam, serving difficulties halted her progress and dragged her into a torrid spell on the court. It was not until after a fourth-round exit at Flushing Meadows where her form turned around. She was the champion in Wuhan, not dropping a set enroute to the title. It makes a stark difference from the Gauff that we were previously watching, getting entangled in gritty and scrappy matches. However, she proved to be very skilful in this, coming out on top in many of them. As the reigning champion, she is under pressure to perform to regain the ranking points inevitably will come falling off.

This will give other players an opportunity to gain ground on the 21-year-old in the rankings, including Pegula who faces Gauff in their first tie of the competition. The Americans both share the same fight and determination on court to get through tough and tense matches. Before losing in the Wuhan final, Pegula played in eight consecutive matches which went the distance, only losing against Linda Noskova in the semi-final of the China Open. She will be hoping for a much more comfortable time in Riyadh, an event that she previously almost went all the way in. However, in the 2023 final she came across a rampant Swiatek, with the 31-year-old managing to win just one measly game.

While she is making her fifth appearance in a WTA Finals event, Paolini is just making her second after a very close call with qualification. It could have been wrapped up earlier if she managed to get over the line in any of the Asian events, reaching two semi-finals a quarter-final. Despite this, the ranking points gained were enough to see her just squeeze in ahead of Andreeva. She had the luxury of not playing in the Pan Pacific Open, allowing her more time to recover and get her body in the right shape to challenge. It was a tough group phase for the Italian last year, losing out to Sabalenka and last year's finalist Zheng Qinwen. A solitary won over Rybakina was not enough to get her out of the group, a task that she will be desperately hoping to do. She will face Sabalenka in her opening tussle, with a win putting her in pole position.

The other four competitors will be competing in the group named after the most successful WTA player in existence, with Serena Williams claiming 23 Grand Slam titles and five Tour finals. The group contains Swiatek, Anisimova, Rybakina and Keys.

Similar to the other group, the highest ranked player will go into it as the favourite to win it, but it may not be as simple as some may believe for Swiatek, despite her imperious form. The Wimbledon triumph turned what was a lacklustre and underwhelming campaign to joy and celebration, with her managing to keep up that good form. However, after a brilliant comeback win to clinch the Korea Open title, she succumbed to early defeats in the following WTA 1000 events in Beijing and Wuhan, failing to race past the quarter-final stage. She does not come into the Finals with the ominous form she normally portrays when on court but if she brings her A-game, there is a chance that no one could get close to her.

That would include Amanda Anisimova, who arguably is the inform player in the world. After losing in two consecutive Grand Slam finals, the American has bounced back in terrific form. She blitzed the competition in Beijing, defeating Paolini and Gauff enroute to a second WTA 1000 title of the year. Having skipped the event in Wuhan to spend time with family, she is now looking to replicate her form to continue the magical 2025 season she is enduring. It will be her maiden voyage into the WTA Finals, with a first matchup coming against the Ningbo Open champion Rybakina.

The Kazakhstani has not had the best of times in this event, picking up just a brace of wins from the previous two campaigns. After qualifying by the skin of her teeth, Rybakina will be hoping to prolong that end of season form that achieved her Finals qualification for the third year on the bounce. After picking up the two wins needed in Tokyo, she controversially withdrew from her semi-final matchup against Noskova to prepare for this event. Recognised as one of the best servers in the world, she will be remarkably dangerous if she can consistently keep it up to scratch.

Finally, the fourth American in the draw is the Australian Open champion Keys. She has featured in the event just twice before, failing to get out of the group stage in 2016 before coming in as an alternate player in 2022. Unfortunately for the 30-year-old, injuries have prevented her from competing in Asia, preventing her from getting back on track after a rough patch on the court. An opening round exit in the US Open was a damaging result, while only managing just one semi-final since her last-eight appearance at Roland Garros. Now back, she will be looking to return to the form that saw her lift her maiden Grand Slam title almost a year ago.