WTA Finals: Muchova withdraws, Andreeva beats stand-in Shnaider to finish Group 2 unbeaten

Karolina Muchova pulled out of the WTA Finals in Indian Wells on Friday, 13 November, shortly before her final Group 2 match, and second alternate Diana Shnaider stepped in against Mirra Andreeva. The No. 3 seed won 6-2, 6-1 to become the only singles player at this year's event to win all three of her round-robin matches.

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Muchova pulls out with a stomach illness

The Czech withdrew less than two hours before she was due on court, according to the Associated Press. In a statement she said: "Unfortunately, I have to withdraw from today's match due to gastrointestinal issues." The match itself had no bearing on the semi-final line-up: Muchova, the No. 7 seed, was already eliminated after defeats to Aryna Sabalenka and Elina Svitolina, while Andreeva had already sealed first place in the group.

Muchova's exit is the second withdrawal of the week. Defending champion Elena Rybakina pulled out before the tournament began and was replaced by first alternate Marta Kostyuk, which is why the call went to Shnaider, the second alternate, on Friday.

Andreeva recovers from a slow start

Shnaider, who had not expected to play, made the brighter start and broke first, Tennis Up To Date reported. It was the only break she managed. Andreeva quickly found her range and took control, converting six of the seven break points she earned and winning six of her seven service games, according to the match statistics published by Tennis.com. Shnaider struggled behind her second serve, winning only three of eleven points on it, and served four double faults.

The two Russians know each other well. They won the women's doubles silver medal together at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and Tennis Majors noted that Shnaider had already lost twice to Andreeva on the WTA Tour, most recently in Adelaide in January. For the alternate, the consolation is a WTA Finals debut; a round-robin win would have been worth $230,000 and 200 ranking points, according to the AP.

A perfect group for Andreeva

Friday's result completes an emphatic round robin for the 19-year-old. She opened with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Svitolina, then came from 4-1 down in the first set to beat top seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-0 on Wednesday, a result that secured her place in her first WTA Finals semi-final. Across three matches she dropped no sets and only 11 games in total.

The week could also reshape the top of the rankings. Before Friday, Tennis Majors' live-ranking calculations had Andreeva provisionally at world No. 2, narrowly ahead of Sabalenka, with the final standings at the end of the event still to be settled.

Who is left and what comes next

With Andreeva through as group winner, the second Group 2 semi-final place was left to a straight shoot-out between Sabalenka and Svitolina, both 1-1 after two matches and scheduled to play later on Friday. Sabalenka had won their previous five meetings, including the Australian Open semi-final in January, the WTA noted. The winner meets Group 1 winner Linda Noskova in Saturday's semi-finals; the loser's season is over.

Andreeva's semi-final is against Group 1 runner-up Jessica Pegula, who saved a match point to beat Noskova on Thursday. According to the WTA, it will be the first meeting between the two. The semi-finals are on Saturday, 14 November, and the final on Sunday, 15 November. Follow the full draw on our WTA Finals page.