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The 53rd edition of the WTA Finals is set to begin on November 2, promising eight days of thrilling tennis as the world’s top eight women prepare to compete for the prestigious year-end title.
Leading the field are top seeds Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek, both strong favorites for the crown. Coco Gauff and Jasmine Paolini round out the top four seeds and are poised to challenge for the title as well.
Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula, Zheng Qinwen, and Barbora Krejcikova will also be keen contenders, each eager to make their mark.
With seven different champions from seven nations since 2016, fans are left wondering—will this year bring yet another new champion?
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On that note, here is everything you need to know for the 2024 season finale.
What is the WTA Finals?
The WTA Finals is the season-ending championship on the women’s tennis tour, ranking just behind the four Grand Slams in significance. This elite event features the top eight singles players and doubles teams from the season.
First held in 1972, the inaugural title went to Chris Evert, who defeated Kerry Melville 7-5, 6-4. Martina Navratilova remains the tournament’s most successful player, with a record eight singles titles and 13 doubles titles.
Other notable champions include Steffi Graf, Serena Williams, Monica Seles, Justine Henin and Maria Sharapova. Iga Swiatek enters this year as the defending champion.
Venue
The 2024 WTA Finals will be held for the first time at the King Saud University Indoor Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, marking a change in location for the tournament. The event was previously hosted at the Estadio Paradisus in Cancun, Mexico.
Players & Draw
Aryna Sabalenka will once again lead the lineup as the top seed at this year’s WTA Finals on the back of a stellar season, highlighted by her victories at both hardcourt Majors and titles in Cincinnati and Wuhan. Despite a semifinal exit last year, she enters as the clear favorite this year.
Defending champion Iga Swiatek, seeded second, has been off the court since the US Open and aims to close her year on a high note. Coco Gauff, seeded third, overcame an inconsistent season to claim the China Open title during the Asian hardcourt swing, regaining momentum ahead of the Finals.
Jasmine Paolini, enjoying a breakout season, rounds out the top four seeds. She claimed her first WTA 1000 title in Dubai and reached consecutive Grand Slam finals at the French Open and Wimbledon. Paolini will also compete in doubles with Sara Errani.
Fifth-seeded Elena Rybakina returns after a lengthy injury break, while Jessica Pegula, fresh off her maiden Grand Slam final at the US Open, sits in the sixth spot.
Olympic gold medalist and the Toray Pan Pacific Open champion Zheng Qinwen is seeded seventh. Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova, who earned her place under the new top-20 and Grand Slam champion rule, enters as the eighth seed. Emma Navarro and Daria Kasatkina will serve as alternates.
The draw has placed Sabalenka, Paolini, Rybakina and Zheng in the Purple Group, while Swiatek, Gauff, Pegula and Krejcikova are set in the Orange Group.
The eight doubles teams set to take part in this year's event are Lyudmyla Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko (1), Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe (2), Hsieh Su-Wei and Elise Mertens (3), Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini (4), Carolina Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk (5), Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Ellen Perez (6), Chan Hao-ching and Veronika Kudermetova (7), and last Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend (8).
Schedule
The 2024 WTA Finals will begin on November 2 and run through November 9. The first six days will feature four matches daily, comprising two singles and two doubles encounters. The semifinals are scheduled for Friday (Nov. 8), followed by the big ticket summit clash on Saturday (Nov. 9).
Prize Money
The 2024 WTA Finals will feature a record-setting prize pool of $15.25 million (£11.76m).
Unlike most tournaments, prize money here is awarded per match win. An undefeated champion could earn up to $5.15 million by winning all three round-robin matches, the semifinal, and the final.
The finals winner will receive $2.5 million, with each semifinalist earning $1.27 million. Round-robin match wins will pay $350,000 each, while players receive a $335,000 participation fee.
This year’s prize pool is over $6 million more than the 2023 event in Cancun, with the champion’s earnings exceeding those of any Grand Slam title.
Where to watch the WTA Finals 2024?
Fans from around the globe can catch the live action from the 2024 WTA Finals on the following channels and websites:
United States - Tennis Channel
UK - Sky Sports
Canada - DAZN
Australia - beIN Sports
India - Tennis Channel
France - BEIN Sports
Spain - Tennis Channel, TV3, & TVE
Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein - Sky Sports
Netherlands - Ziggo Sport
Denmark - TV2
Greece & Cyprus - NOVA Sports
Romania - Digisport
Poland, Czech Republic, and Slovakia - CANAL+
Portugal - Eleven Sports
Belgium - Play Sports & TELENET
Hungary - Network 4 & Match 4
Turkey - beIn Digiturk
Israel - Charlton
New Zealand - TVNZ
China - YOUKU
Japan - DAZN
South Korea - CJ ENM
Hong Kong - NOW TV
For more information regarding the broadcast of the event, click here.
