The climax to the 2024 WTA Tour season arrives in November in the shape of the WTA Finals in Riyadh, live on Sky Sports Tennis.
Between November 2 and 9 the top eight women’s players in the world will face off in Saudi Arabia, looking to end their seasons on a high.
Read below for all you need to know…
What is the format of the ATP Finals?
The singles and doubles competition at the WTA Finals is played in a round-robin format. Players and teams are drawn into two separate groups and the top two finishers from each group advance to the semi-finals.
Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek will be the two favourites at the 2024 WTA Finals
The top finisher from each group will face the runner-up from the other. The semi-finals and final are then played in a standard knockout format.
As with the ATP Finals in Turin, the WTA Finals hosts the top eight players from this calendar year.
Which players are qualified?
Poland’s Iga Swiatek and Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka are the only two players who have qualified for the WTA Finals at present, leaving six spots open to be decided in the final months of the season.
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Sabalenka battled past Jessica Pegula in straight sets as she won the US Open for the first time in her career
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Martina Navratilova believes US Open champion Sabalenka is capable of usurping Swiatek as world No 1
Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina, Italy’s Jasmine Paolini and the USA’s Jessica Pegula own a significant lead at the No 3, No 4 and No 5 spots on the Race to WTA Finals leaderboard, holding a 1,200-plus point cushion over anyone outside the Top 7.
American duo Coco Gauff and Emma Navarro currently hold the No 6 and No 7 spots on the leaderboard, with compatriot Danielle Collins behind them at No 8.
China’s Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng is ranked at No 9 currently.
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Highlights of Swiatek against Sabalenka from the Rome final
For the Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova – currently ranked at No 11 – scenarios for qualification for the WTA Finals look slightly different. As a Grand Slam winner, the Wimbledon champion needs only to secure a Top 20 leaderboard finish to punch her ticket to Riyadh.
Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova needs only to finish inside the top 20 rankings this year to book her place
This is the first year such a scenario is a qualification rule for the WTA, where the highest ranked Grand Slam champion ranked No 8-20 secures a spot, leaving Krejcikova a great chance of making it to Saudi Arabia.
Who is the defending champion?
In 2023, Iga Swiatek dominated Jessica Pegula 6-1 6-0 to win the season-ending WTA Finals in Cancun and regain her world No 1 ranking from Aryna Sabalenka.
Poland’s Swiatek is the defending champion, having beaten Jessica Pegula in the 2023 WTA Finals
The four-time Grand Slam winner broke Pegula five times and saved the only break point she faced en route to her first WTA Finals trophy in a match delayed a day due to rain.
The Pole went 5-0 at the WTA tour’s season-closing championship, winning all 10 sets she played and ceding a total of just 20 games.
Such form was the fewest by the tournament’s winner since 2003, when it returned to a round-robin format. The previous low in that time was the 34 games dropped by Justine Henin in 2007.
Where is it being hosted?
Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh will host the WTA Finals for the top eight singles players and top eight doubles teams for the 2024, 2025 and 2026 tournaments.
The women’s professional tennis tour announced the three-year deal will see prize money for this November’s tournament raised to $15.25m (£12m), a 70-per-cent increase from 2023.
Previous hosts were Cancun (2023), Fort Worth (2022), Guadalajara (2021), Shenzhen (2019), Singapore (2014-2018), Istanbul (2011-2013), Doha (2008-2010), Madrid (2006-2007), Los Angeles (2002-2005, 1974-1976), Munich (2001), New York (1979-2000, 1977), Oakland (1978), Boca Raton (1972-1973).
Which major events are left before it begins?
In terms of the major WTA Tour events that are left before the final WTA Finals qualifiers are confirmed, the WTA Masters 1000 China Open takes place between September 25 and October 6.
The final major event is then the WTA Masters 1000 Wuhan Open between October 7-October 13.
What’s on Sky Sports Tennis in September?
- Japan Open – ATP 500 (September 25-October 1)
- China Open – ATP 500 (September 26-October 2)
- China Open – WTA 1000 (September 25-October 6)
Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.
