Marion Bartoli picks who is going to win the WTA Finals after Elena Rybakina withdraws

Elena Rybakina has created a big opening in the WTA Finals field after withdrawing from the event.

Rybakina confirmed she would not be playing the WTA Finals due to a ‘medical issue’, becoming just the fifth world number one to miss the year-end tournament.

Having won two Grand Slam titles this year and being the defending WTA Finals champion, Rybakina was many people’s pick to win the title in Indian Wells this year.

However, with Rybakina no longer in the picture, former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli has revealed who she now thinks is going to win the WTA Finals.

Marion Bartoli favours Aryna Sabalenka after Elena Rybakina’s withdrawal

Bartoli, who made two appearances at the WTA Finals in her career, gave her reaction to Rybakina’s withdrawal live on Sky Sports, as she spoke about the toll the long season could have taken on the world number one’s health.

“It has been a long season for everyone, your immune system goes down and you can pick up any virus at any time,” said Bartoli. “It was a long trip for a lot of players as well to come from Asia to Indian Wells, that can sometimes take you out of the tournament.

“It was unfortunate for Rybakina. Being the number one in the world, I am sure she wanted to give herself a chance to win this.”

With Rybakina no longer in the event, Bartoli has admitted that she now favours Aryna Sabalenka, highlighting her previous success on US hard courts, including winning the Indian Wells title earlier this year.

“Before the tournament on the hard court in the US, I always favour Sabalenka because for me she always plays her best tennis in these kind of conditions,” predicted Bartoli.

“Rybakina is the one who can push her on those hard courts, but you have a feeling that because it’s held in different conditions to March, it is up for grabs for everyone. It’s the one who will adapt the best to the different balls and conditions. I’m very excited.”

Aryna Sabalenka’s record at the WTA Finals

Sabalenka is now the top-ranked player remaining in the WTA Finals field, and has made more appearances at the event than any of the other seven players, but she is still yet to win the title at the year-end tournament.

In her five previous appearances at the WTA Finals, Sabalenka has won 12 of her 21 matches, with her best results coming in 2022 and 2025, when she finished as runner-up.

Last year, Sabalenka was beaten in the final by the absent Rybakina, but this will be the first year that she has played the WTA Finals on an outdoor hard court in the States.

As Sabalenka looks to take advantage of Rybakina’s withdrawal from the WTA Finals, she will begin her round-robin campaign against Wimbledon finalist Karolina Muchova. Muchova is the only player with a positive head-to-head against Sabalenka in the WTA Finals field, having won three of their five previous meetings.

The other players in Sabalenka and Muchova’s round-robin group are Mirra Andreeva and Elina Svitolina, with the top two advancing to the semi-finals.

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Esta notícia foi originalmente publicada em: Fonte original