On Sunday, Elena Rybakina begins her WTA Finals title defence when she faces Linda Noskova in her opening match in Group 1.

Last year’s winner of this tournament is coming off a quarter-final exit at the Japan Open in late October, losing to Leylah Fernandez in a walkover, while her upcoming Czech opponent most recently exited the last 16 of the China Open in straight sets to Ekaterina Alexandrova, 6-2, 6-2.

Match preview

Retaining a title in any tournament these days is a tall order, and that will be no different for Rybakina, who faces an incredibly tough group stage at this year’s WTA Finals.

The current world #1, who has already secured the year-end top spot, will face two players who have made two Grand Slam semi-finals this year, with her other opponent being Noskova, the reigning Wimbledon champion.

Recent history does not favour Rybakina, as no defending champion has advanced beyond the round robin phase of this tournament since Elina Svitolina in 2019.

That said, the Russian-born player representing Kazakhstan has been one of the standout players on the women’s tour this season, capturing two Grand Slam singles titles while posting an impressive 53-14 record in singles matches this year.

At the same time, Rybakina has not lost to any of her three group opponents in 2026, making her the favourite to advance from this opening phase, as she aims to become the first woman to repeat as  WTA Finals champion since Serena Williams in between 2012 and 2014.

In 2026, the reigning Australian Open and US Open champion has won over 80% of her service games across all surfaces, and 74% of her first serves.

Appearing in her first WTA Finals, Linda Noskova will hope to fly under the radar and surprise the competition, many of whom have taken part in this event before.

The youngest Wimbledon winner since 2011 has not made it beyond the quarter-finals of a singles event since her victory at the All-England Club earlier this year.

She enters this tournament as the lowest of the eight seeds and will aim to become the first in that spot to win the WTA Finals.

Noskova should draw plenty of confidence from her last appearance on this court, reaching the semi-finals of this year’s Indian Wells Open in March.

Meanwhile, she has suffered only 15 defeats on the WTA singles tour this year, while winning 35 times.

Throughout 2026, her serve has been a huge weapon, with the Czech winning 73% of her first serves and slightly more than 80% of her service games.

Head To Head

French Open (2023) - Round of 64: Rybakina wins 6-3 6-3

Brisbane Open (2024) - Semi-finals: Rybakina wins 6-3 6-2

Wuhan Open (2025) - Round of 16: Rybakina wins 6-3 6-4

Tokyo Open (2025) - Semi-finals: Noskova advances in a walkover

When the two first met at Roland Garros three years ago, Rybakina converted three break points and won 79% of her first serves to advance, while Noskova won only 65% of hers.

The following year in Brisbane, the Kazakh star advanced in straight sets once again, thanks to her eight aces, while conceding just one.

At the Wuhan Open in 2025, Rybakina made it three for three against Noskova without a single double fault, while Noskova registered eight.

These two were supposed to meet in the Tokyo Open semi-finals last year, but a nagging back injury forced Rybakina to withdraw ahead of time, and Noskova went on to lose the final in straight sets to Belinda Bencic.

We say: Rybakina to win in two sets

Rybakina is playing at such a high level, and we believe her experience in a tournament like this, versus the best of the best, will help her reach another level and earn her an opening win on Sunday.