The 2026 WTA Finals in Indian Wells, California, begin on Sunday, November 8.

Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka, Mirra Andreeva, Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Elina Svitolina, Karolina Muchova, and Linda Noskova will battle it out for the year-end championship crown.

But who is the favourite to lift the title? Former Olympic gold medalist and two-time WTA Finals semi-finalist, Elena Dementieva, has now named her four title favourites, leaving out some big names.

Elena Dementieva snubs Coco Gauff as she names Mirra Andreeva among her four WTA Finals favourites

Dementieva began discussing the conditions players can expect to face at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells. The event was moved from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and will be held in California for one edition, before the transition to Charlotte next year.

“I just looked; in November, it’s completely different weather. It’s already 16-20 degrees; there will be no scorching sun, no heat, it will be rainy, and windy as always,” said Dementieva during the latest episode of ‘Hardcourt‘ (translated from Russian).

Which of these four WTA players do you think is most likely to win a Grand Slam in 2027?

“Therefore, here I probably agree with Olga Morozova, who said that the advantage here will go to whoever is fresher at the end of the season. I can’t imagine anyone who really enjoys these kinds of weather conditions. It’s really difficult. We need to look at who will arrive in what form and who will have more strength left to resist not only the opponent, but the circumstances.”

Dementieva then named four of the eight participants she believes can win the title, leaving out a former champion and a former finalist at the event.

“I would say Aryna [Sabalenka], Elena Rybakina, Mirra [Andreeva], and Linda Noskova; for me, I see [one of] those four players as the winner of the tournament,” she said.

Sabalenka and Rybakina were obvious picks, given they contested last year’s final and enter the event as the top two seeds, but Andreeva and Noskova are somewhat surprising additions. Both players will make their WTA Finals debuts this year, and have no experience playing the singles year-end championships.

Elena Dementieva’s WTA Finals favourites

Elena Rybakina

Aryna Sabalenka

Mirra Andreeva

Linda Noskova

Dementieva missed out Gauff, a former champion, Pegula, a former finalist, and Svitolina, the player with the highest WTA Finals win % among the eight participants.

The other four WTA Finals participants

Coco Gauff

Jessica Pegula

Elina Svitolina

Karolina Muchova

She did, however, mention that every player competing in Indian Wells is dangerous and could challenge for the title, despite leaving the above four out of her list of favourites.

“It will be difficult with everyone, even those whom I did not name as favourites. Naturally, these are very experienced players. Elina Svitolina and Jessica Pegula, no one would want to meet them in the first round and in the first match, because these are incredibly solid players. There won’t be any easy matches here, but this is the final championship, as the name suggests,” said Dementieva.

“[Coco] Gauff has the advantage that she is almost at home, in America,” added Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who travelled to the WTA Finals as an alternate in 2021.

Full WTA Finals draw revealed

The WTA Finals draw has now been revealed, placing the eight players into two groups. Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk and Diana Shnaider are alternates if anyone withdraws.

2026 WTA Finals Group 1

2026 WTA Finals Group 2

Rybakina will play Noskova, and Gauff will play Pegula as Group 1 action begins on Sunday, November 7, before Sabalenka plays Muchova and Andreeva plays Svitolina when Group 2 starts on Monday, November 8.