The ‘dangerous’ player in red-hot form who is tipped as a contender to win the WTA Finals

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The WTA Finals begin this weekend, as the top eight players in women’s tennis battle it out for the title in Riyadh.

Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula, Jasmine Paolini, and Elena Rybakina have qualified for this year’s WTA Finals.

The youngest player in the field, Gauff, is the defending champion, having beaten China’s Qinwen Zheng in the final 12 months ago.

In 2025, she’ll be looking to become the first player since Serena Williams to win back-to-back WTA Finals titles.

Gauff won’t have it easy, though, with several players entering the competition in good form.

One player who could challenge Gauff in Saudi Arabia has won her last six matches on the WTA Tour, and is being tipped as a title contender by a former Grand Slam finalist.

Luke Saville thinks Elena Rybakina will be ‘dangerous’ at the WTA Finals

During the latest episode of ‘The Tennis’, 2020 Australian Open doubles finalist Luke Saville named the player he believes could be one to look out for at the WTA Finals.

“[Elena] Rybakina is coming in as the sixth player. I think she was out before winning that last event; she’s really come into contention,” he said.

“I mean, she’s dangerous indoors; it will be very interesting to see.”

Rybakina was outside the top eight in the race until the last few weeks of the season, qualifying for the WTA Finals at the expense of Mirra Andreeva when she reached the quarterfinals in Tokyo last time out.

The Kazakh subsequently withdrew from the tournament in Japan, in a bid to arrive in Saudi Arabia ready to challenge for the title.

She may well do so, but how has she performed at the WTA Finals throughout her career so far?

Rybakina has only won two matches at the tour finals across her two previous visits.

Elena Rybakina’s WTA Finals record

• 2023 WTA Finals RR [WIN] vs Maria Sakkari
• 2023 WTA Finals RR [LOSS] vs Jessica Pegula
• 2023 WTA Finals RR [LOSS] vs Aryna Sabalenka
• 2024 WTA Finals RR [WIN] vs Aryna Sabalenka
• 2024 WTA Finals RR [LOSS] vs Jasmine Paolini
• 2024 WTA Finals RR [LOSS] vs Qinwen Zheng

There’s no doubt that Rybakina will want to do better this time around and reach her first career semifinal at the event.

However, while Saville thinks Rybakina is one to watch out for, his fellow Aussie and current WTA star, Jaimee Fourliss, has picked two different players as her favorites.

Jaimee Fourliss backs Iga Swiatek and Amanda Anisimova

The 26-year-old expects the competition to be strong, but is backing two players to impress.

“I think it’s exciting, I think the lineup is probably the best. I know that it’s always the best players, but this year, it’s been incredibly hard to differentiate between who’s going to win each Slam, each major tournament,” said Fourliss.

“I would go for Iga [Swiatek] or [Amanda] Anisimova, I think they’re my top two picks for the WTA Finals.”

Swiatek is a former champion at the event, whilst Anisimova is set to make her debut in 2025.

But have they been placed in the same group?

The 2025 WTA Finals draw in full

The eight players have been split into two groups: Group Steffi Graf and Group Serena Williams.

Group Steffi Graf

Group Steffi Graf is arguably the more competitive of the two, featuring two of the top three seeds, Sabalenka and Gauff.

With Pegula in good form and Paolini always dangerous, it will certainly be a tough group to get out of.

Group Serena Williams

Group Serena Williams might be even more intriguing, however, with Australian Open champion Keys and Wimbledon champion Swiatek joining Rybakina and Anisimova.

While Swiatek and Keys have won major titles this year, their group stage opponents have been in better form recently and will certainly be after a spot in the last four.

It will be Group Serena Williams that kicks things off on Saturday, November 1, when Swiatek plays Keys in an Australian Open semifinal rematch.