Andreeva and Muchova make their debut at the event. The only former winner in the group is 2018 champion Svitolina.
Around the clock, Monday, November 9
Local time (PT), 21:00 CET for the first leg. Seeds in parentheses.
Sabalenka – Muchova will open the 2nd group
Sabalenka, 28, is playing in her sixth straight WTA finals, the first since Agnieszka Radwanska (2011-2016) to do so. He is 12-9 at the event and lost in the finals in 2022 and 2025.
He opened 2026 with a title in Brisbane, followed by back-to-back wins in Indian Wells and Miami complete the Sunshine Doublethe fifth player to do so. She also reached the finals of the Australian Open and the US Open, both losing to Rybakina. He hasn’t won a title since Miami in March.
“I’m very happy to be back in Indian Wells,” Sabalenka said media day. “A lot of great memories, especially this season, getting with my dog, getting engaged, winning the title.”
Muchova, 30, won her first WTA 1000 title in Doha and her first grass court title in Bad Homburg this season. He also reached the final in Stuttgart and his second Grand Slam final at Wimbledon, where she lost to Linda Noskova. The run moved him up to 6th place.
She leads Sabalenka 3-2, the only player in the group with a winning record against her. Sabalenka won their only meeting of 2026, in the semifinals in Brisbane.
“For me and my career, all health, that’s important,” Muchova said during the media day.
Andreeva vs Svitolina, debut vs experience
19-year-old Andreeva was an alternate at the event for the first time last year. She won her first Grand Slam title this season Roland GarrosYoungest Paris champion since Monica Seles in 1992 and added titles in Adelaide and Linz. He also reached the finals in Madrid and Beijing.
Her 50 wins this season made her the youngest player to turn 50 in a year since Caroline Wozniacki in 2009. He climbed to a career-high No. 3 in October.
Her week began with an off-court controversy when Jessica Pegula was heard on live television calling her a “diva”.
Svitolina, 32, returned to the WTA finals for the first time since 2019, when she lost to Ashley Barty in the final a year after winning the title. She won titles in Auckland and Rome this season, defeating Coco Gauff in the Rome final and reaching her first Australian Open semi-final. He returned to the top 10 for the first time since October 2021.
He is coached this week by former player Sergei Stakhovsky as his regular coach Andrew Battles was unable to travel to Indian Wells.
“It’s changed massively,” Svitolina said during media day. “Now the pitch is very different than before from a playing point of view. Everything is much faster, much more aggressive.”
Andreeva and Svitolina split their two matches. In the group, Sabalenka leads Andreeva 4-2 and Svitolina leads 6-1 and Svitolina leads 3-1 and Andreeva leads 1-0.
The top two from each group advance to the semi-finals, where the winner of each group meets the runner-up of the other group. The undefeated champion will earn $3.37 million and 1,500 rating points.
