WTA Finals Editors Picks: Four possible outcomes for tour's season-ending championships

STEVE TIGNOR

🏆 Champion: Aryna Sabalenka

👀 Ones to Watch: Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova

Iga Swiatek has a WTA Finals title, Coco Gauff has one, but so far Aryna Sabalenka doesn't. She's been to one final, in 2022, which she improbably lost to Caroline Garcia. Sabalenka has been No. 1 for a year, but during that time she has lost as many big matches, if not more, than she has won. This tournament will be played on the hard courts she likes, and she's in a group—with Gauff, Jessica Pegula and Jasmine Paolini—where the results will be on her racquet. A title would confirm her year-end No. 1 status. Anything else would leave doubts lingering into 2026.

🖥️📲 Stream all the action from WTA Finals on the Tennis Channel App!

DAVID KANE

🏆 Champion: Aryna Sabalenka

👀 Ones to Watch: Iga Swiatek, Jasmine Paolini

Underestimate Jasmine Paolini at your peril. The feel good story of 2024 is back—and better than ever?—in 2025, backing up a breakthrough season with higher highs on the margins of the Grand Slam stage. Though she didn’t reach another major final, she capped a fairytale week in Rome with a comprehensive victory over Coco Gauff. She was equally ruthless only weeks ago with a drubbing of Iga Swiatek in Wuhan. Might that momentum get her out of the group stage this year?

ED MCGROGAN

🏆 Champion: Coco Gauff

👀 Ones to Watch: Aryna Sabalenka, Amanda Anisimova

When Sabalenka takes the court on Sunday, she’ll be playing just her fifth match since winning the US Open on September 6. That rust is something to consider, even for the world No. 1. Gauff, who went 9-1 in October—including eight straight-set wins—looks primed to take advantage. She’s playing freely, embracing the late-season opportunities to tinker with her game and, of course, is also the defending champion.

📝 Read more: Tennis Channel Analysts draft WTA Finals Fantasy Teams

JON LEVEY

🏆 Champion: Coco Gauff

👀 Ones To Watch: Elena Rybakina, Amanda Anisimova

Elena Rybakina is the ultimate wildcard. When she’s feeling her game, she’s a steamroller. And at the moment, the former Wimbledon champ is riding a six-match win streak—including a title in Ningbo—which helped her secure the final spot in the Finals field. However, she has struggled to replicate that same form at the biggest tournaments this year, never getting farther than the Round of 16 at any major. Playing indoors pairs well with her clean, power game and presents an opportunity for her to end an up-and-down season on a high.

PETE BODO

🏆 Champion: Amanda Anisimova

👀 Ones to Watch: Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka

Defending champion Coco Gauff is well-positioned to end her year on another high note. The serving and confidence struggles she faced during a challenging summer have been alleviated (somewhat) by a 9-1 record since the US Open—that one loss inflicted by compatriot Anisimova in the semifinals of Beijing. Gauff will feel comfortable on the hard court in the Arabian desert—but so will Anisimova, whose clean power brings even the nimblest athletes to a screeching halt. Anisimova’s win in Beijing (in her last appearance before these finals) included a rout of Gauff, which will give the Roland Garros champion plenty to think about should they meet.

JOEL DRUCKER

🏆 Champion: Iga Swiatek

👀 Ones to Watch: Aryna Sabalenka, Amanda Anisimova

It’s hard to imagine a more heartwarming story than the journey of Amanda Anisimova. From teen hopeful to exile and now, a breakthrough year has brought her to the WTA Finals for the first time. Besides being tremendously resilient, Anisimova is also aided by great groundstrokes, struck both early and hard. Emphatically proving that her run to the Wimbledon final was no fluke, she played great tennis at the US Open, beating Slam champions Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka before losing to Aryna Sabalenka in the final. Later came a title run in Beijing, highlighted by a 6-1, 6-2 win over Coco Gauff in the semis. Given all this success, little should stop the 24-year-old Anisimova from playing great tennis in Riyadh—and continuing to play well in 2026.