The final major tennis tournament of the year is set to begin on Saturday as the top-ranked athletes gather in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the 2024 WTA Finals.
This tournament will feature the top eight singles players and top eight doubles teams, including Slam winners and Olympic medalists, competing for the Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova trophies.
A record $15.25 million prize pool is up for grabs, with the singles winner potentially earning $5.155 million and the top doubles team receiving $1.125 million if they remain undefeated throughout the tournament.
Eight days of elite tennis action
In both the singles and doubles categories of the WTA Finals, competitors will be divided into two groups of four.
Players will compete against all others in their group over three matches across the first six days. The top two from each group will advance to the semifinals on November 8th, with the finals scheduled for November 9th.
The Purple Group in the singles competition includes Aryna Sabalenka, Jasmine Paolini, Elena Rybakina, and Qinwen Zheng, while the Orange Group features Iga Świątek, Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, and Barbora Krejčíková.
Representing 25% of the top eight athletes in both competitions are players from the USA, including Gauff and Pegula in singles, and top doubles pairs from the US.
Will Sabalenka play Świątek at the WTA Finals?
A potential match between Sabalenka and 2023 WTA Finals winner Świątek could be the highlight of the tournament as the top-ranked players have not faced each other in a major tournament in 2024.
Sabalenka has had a mix of highs and lows in 2024, winning the Australian Open and US Open but facing injuries in between. In contrast, Świątek had a successful French Open but struggled in the second half of the season, leading to changes in coaching.
How to watch the 2024 WTA Finals tennis tournament
The 2024 WTA Finals will start with a match between Sabalenka and Zheng on Saturday at 11 AM ET.
All matches will be broadcast live on the Tennis Channel.
