INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Elena Rybakina led the tour in aces this season, but Martina Navratilova sees another advantage in the World No. 1’s serve. The quicker Rybakina gets through her service games, the fresher she can stay as the match wears on. At the WTA Finals, where the defending champion will face three of the world’s top players in round-robin play, that can add up.

The serve is one of several details Navratilova will be watching at Indian Wells. She’d also like to see Coco Gauff follow more of her attacks to the net and Jessica Pegula take the ball earlier, and she sees Karolina Muchova as a player who could surprise the group. That’s only a snippet of what Navratilova, an eight-time WTA Finals champion, had to say as she sized up both groups. 

Here’s a full breakdown: 

After a season-long race, the world's top players converge in the California desert with the WTA's biggest title still to be won.

Group 1

No. 1 Elena Rybakina

W-L record: 54-14
Titles won: 4 (Australian Open, Stuttgart, US Open, Ningbo)
Previous WTA Finals appearances: 3
Best WTA Finals result: 2025 champion

Navratilova’s breakdown

Overall assessment: “She absorbs pace really well. On the slower court she can still hit through people. Emotionally, she’s so right on the money. Even if she’s boiling on the inside, it never shows.”

Biggest key: Keep her service games short. “When you have a weapon, it really takes a lot of pressure off and gives you the freedom to go for more. When you have longer service games, it takes a lot more out of you than shorter ones.”

No. 4 Coco Gauff

W-L record: 47-15
Titles won: 1 (Cincinnati)
Previous WTA Finals appearances: 4
Best WTA Finals result: 2024 champion

Navratilova’s breakdown

Overall assessment:“ The surface should suit her just fine. She’s played this event enough times to know what it takes to win it, and she’s done it before. The hard part is keeping your level up when you’re playing one of the best players in the world every time you walk out there.”

Biggest key: Follow her attacks to the net. “She defends so well that she can turn a point around from almost anywhere. Once she gets her opponent on the stretch, I want to see her follow that ball in and take away the time they need to recover. She’s got good volleys and great reach, so there’s very little room to pass her, and it’s hard to get the ball over her head.”

No. 5 Jessica Pegula

W-L record: 50-14
Titles won: 2 (Dubai, Charleston)
Previous WTA Finals appearances: 4
Best WTA Finals result: 2023 finalist

Navratilova’s breakdown

Overall assessment: “She’s been playing at this level for a long time, and she’s still finding ways to add to her game. She’s going for more on her groundstrokes, looking to move forward and trying to get more out of her serve. She’s strong enough to do more with that shot, and a bigger first serve gives her a better ball to attack next.”

Biggest key: Step inside the baseline and take the ball early. “Her strokes are so compact that she can step in and redirect the ball without taking a big swing. If she gets a ball she can handle inside the baseline, she can use the pace that’s already on it and send it into the open court. That takes time away from her opponent, and it gives her a chance to finish the point before the other player can get back into position.”

No. 8 Linda Noskova

W-L record: 35-15
Titles won: 2 (Berlin, Wimbledon)
Previous WTA Finals appearances: 0
Best WTA Finals result: Making her debut

Navratilova’s breakdown

Overall assessment: “What impressed me most at Wimbledon was how she handled it when those match points slipped away. It takes a lot of maturity to put those chances behind you and keep playing the next point. She came back and won, and when you’ve come through a match like that, you can draw on it the next time things get tight.”

Biggest key: Use the pace coming at her. “She likes the ball coming onto her racquet, so if the court is playing a little quicker, that suits her. When someone hits hard at her from the baseline, she can hold her ground and redirect the ball before they’ve recovered. If she can do that consistently, the other player has to think twice about how much pace to give her.”

Group 2

No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka

W-L record: 47-11
Titles won: 3 (Brisbane, Indian Wells, Miami)
Previous WTA Finals appearances: 5
Best WTA Finals result: Finalist in 2022 and 2025

Navratilova’s breakdown

Overall assessment: “Overall, I’d give Rybakina the edge among all the players because of how consistent she’s been, but Sabalenka is right there. Rybakina had a match point against her here at Indian Wells back in March, and Sabalenka still came through and won the title. That tells you how close they are and how well Sabalenka can play on this court.”

Biggest key: Use her pace to dictate on a slow court. “She can hit through this court as well as anybody. When she gets a forehand, she can step into, I want to see her use that first big shot to push her opponent back, then step up and take the next ball early. On a slower court, that second shot matters. If she takes it early, she can keep her opponent on the move before they have a chance to get back into the point.”

No. 3 Mirra Andreeva

W-L record: 50-16
Titles won: 3 (Adelaide, Linz, Roland Garros)
Previous WTA Finals appearances: 0
Best WTA Finals result: Making her singles debut

Navratilova’s breakdown

Overall assessment: “I thought she was going to win a major. I just thought it might happen next year, and she went ahead and did it this year. She’s the youngest player in the field, but nothing seems to bother her. She’s already won at Indian Wells, so she can come in knowing her game works here.”

Biggest key: Use the higher bounce to push opponents back. “She likes the way the ball comes up here. She can play deep and make her opponent hit from farther behind the baseline. If that next ball lands short, that’s her chance to step in and change direction. She can do a lot of the work with the depth of the first ball.”

No. 6 Elina Svitolina

W-L record: 48-15
Titles won: 2 (Auckland, Rome)
Previous WTA Finals appearances: 3
Best WTA Finals result: 2018 champion

Navratilova’s breakdown

Overall assessment: “When you’ve got a lot going on away from tennis, there’s something about walking onto the court and having one thing to think about. I found that in my own career. I could get so absorbed in the match that, for a couple of hours, everything else could wait. I can see how tennis could give Elina that same feeling. There’s a freedom in being able to go out there and just play.”

Biggest key: Keep taking the ball early once she’s in control. “She can defend all day, but when she steps in and gets her opponent moving, I want to see her hold that position. If the next ball lands short, get inside the baseline and make the other player hit on the run again. She’s already opened up the court. That’s when she can finish the point before her opponent has time to get back into it.”

No. 7 Karolina Muchova

W-L record: 41-12
Titles won: 2 (Doha, Bad Homburg)
Previous WTA Finals appearances: 0
Best WTA Finals result: Making her debut

Navratilova’s breakdown

Overall assessment: “This is the healthiest she’s been in a while, and you can see what happens when she gets to play enough matches to build on what she’s doing. She made the Wimbledon final, and when she’s playing freely, she can beat anybody in this field. She’ll come up with a shot from a position where most players are just trying to get the ball back.”

Biggest key: Make opponents adjust to her variety. “She can keep the slice low, then come forward behind it or drop the next ball short. If you start leaning in because you’re looking for the drop shot, she can drive the ball deep and send you right back behind the baseline. I want to see her use all of that. The more decisions she makes you take on the move, the harder it is to settle into the kind of match you want to play.”