The singles field for the WTA Finals is complete. Marta Kostyuk retired from her second-round match at the Ningbo Open on Wednesday, 21 October, after losing the first set 6-4 to Ekaterina Alexandrova, and that ended the last threat to Karolina Muchova, who takes the eighth and final place at Indian Wells.
A wrist injury ends the chase
Kostyuk, the third seed in Ningbo, was broken in the opening game and stopped after a medical time-out, Tennis365 and the Associated Press reported. The Ukrainian has been struggling with her right wrist for several weeks: the problem had already forced her out of the China Open. "The pain in my wrist came back," she wrote on Instagram, adding that she needs "to give it more time to recover", according to EssentiallySports.
Her task was steep anyway. Kostyuk started the week tenth in the Race to the WTA Finals, 815 points behind Muchova, and the WTA had confirmed that Muchova would clinch the last place unless Kostyuk reached the Ningbo final. The other contender, Iga Swiatek, had already ended her season on Tuesday with a thigh injury.
Muchova's first WTA Finals
Muchova qualified without playing this week: she lost in the third round in Wuhan and is not entered in Ningbo. The 30-year-old Czech will make her first appearance at the year-end championships, the WTA said, after a season that includes the Qatar title, the Bad Homburg title and a run to the Wimbledon final, where she lost to compatriot Linda Noskova, Tennis365 reported.
The WTA marked the moment by saying Muchova "confirms her place" and completes "the 2026 singles line-up".
The eight qualifiers
Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka, Mirra Andreeva, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, Elina Svitolina, Linda Noskova and Muchova will contest the singles at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden from 8 to 15 November, in two round-robin groups of four followed by semi-finals and a final. Rybakina, the defending champion, arrives as world No 1. With two Czech players in the field, Noskova and Muchova could even meet again a few months after their Wimbledon final.
What's next
The group draw will decide who faces whom in the round robin. Kostyuk is likely to finish tenth in the Race, which would normally make her an alternate, but only if her wrist allows. Our WTA Finals preview explains the format and points, the WTA Finals page will carry live scores, and the WTA rankings show where each qualifier stands.
Sources
This article was written by TiebreakNews from the reporting below, checked against official results and rankings.
- WTA — Fernandez's marathon win, Kostyuk's retirement headline Day 3 in Ningbo
- NBC Sports / AP — Karolina Muchova secures the last WTA Finals spot after Marta Kostyuk retires at Ningbo Open
- Tennis365 — Marta Kostyuk's Ningbo Open exit ends Race to Indian Wells as WTA Finals qualifiers confirmed
- EssentiallySports — Elina Svitolina and others learn their WTA Finals fate after Marta Kostyuk's Ningbo withdrawal