The match between Marta Kostyuk and Ekaterina Alexandrova at the Ningbo Open might have looked like a regular second-round match from the outside, but the contest was one with high stakes. The Ukrainian player needed to make a deep run in Ningbo to have an outside chance of getting the final spot for the year-ending WTA Finals at Indian Wells. However, as it turned out, the way the match ended, Kostyuk helped someone else’s cause more than her own.
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Having lost the first set 6-4 to Alexandrova, Kostyuk decided to retire from the match, as the World No. 10 was struggling with a wrist injury. The withdrawal ended Kostyuk’s challenge for qualifying for the WTA Finals, as the Ukrainian’s decision to pull out saw Karolina Muchova take the final spot for Indian Wells, with the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, Mirra Andreeva, Linda Noskova, and Elina Svitolina already having qualified for the year-end championship.
As for Kostyuk, the right wrist injury has been bothering the Ukrainian player in the second half of the season, with the 24-year-old already withdrawing from the China Open and the Billie Jean King Cup Finals due to the same issue. The injury prevented her from playing at full tilt in the final half of the season, where she could have pushed for qualification for the WTA Finals, which would have been a fitting end to the career-best season she had so far. However, as the Ukrainian confessed on social media, the pain in her wrist was no longer bearable.
“The pain in my wrist came back, and as much as I want to keep playing, I know I need to give it more time to recover,” said Kostyuk in her Instagram post. “Hoping to be back on court soon. Thank you for your support ❤️ See you next year, Asia!”
Having a 36-12 win-loss record this year, Kostyuk took a giant step in her career in 2026 as the Ukrainian made her Top-10 debut this year, which saw her have semifinal runs at consecutive Majors at the French Open and at Wimbledon. She won her maiden WTA 1000 title in Madrid, and her 17-1 record on clay this year was one of the best runs any WTA player had on the red dirt.
Kostyuk still might make the trip to Indian Wells, given that she is likely to finish 10th on the WTA Race Rankings for the season, with the Ukrainian potentially being an alternate for the draw. However, even then, she will be racing against time to fully recover from her injury to be in a position to play if one of the qualified players withdraws from the draw.
Kostyuk’s decision to withdraw from her match in Ningbo was not the only withdrawal that helped lock down the final eight for the WTA Finals. Iga Swiatek withdrew from the Ningbo Open altogether, ending her qualification challenge to focus on recovery after suffering a leg injury in her semifinal match against Maja Chwalinska at the Wuhan Open.
While Swiatek’s absence from the Finals field sees the Pole miss the cut after making it for five straight seasons since 2021, the 2026 field for the WTA Finals does have a mix of some regular faces, some new ones, while another making her comeback after seven years.
The WTA Finals Has a Mix of Old and New Faces for 2026
With the likes of Sabalenka, Rybakina, Gauff, and Pegula, half of the WTA Finals field has been made up of players who have qualified for the event for at least the last four editions. While Gauff and Rybakina won the title in 2024 and 2025, respectively, Sabalenka and Pegula have finished runner-up at the event, with the Belarusian coming second to Carolina Garcia and Rybakina in 2022 and 2025, and the American coming second to Swiatek in 2023.
The 2026 WTA Finals also sees the return of Elina Svitolina to the year-ending competition, having last qualified in 2019. The former World No. 3 has won the title before, clinching it in 2018, while also having a runner-up finish in 2019. She has been in the news recently due to her split with her husband, Gael Monfils, but Svitolina will be motivated to be at her best at Indian Wells.
Lastly, the trio of Andreeva, Noskova, and Muchova is making their WTA Finals debut this year. While Andreeva and Noskova won their maiden Grand Slams this year and effectively secured their qualification, this is Muchova’s second chance. The Czech player qualified for the Finals back in 2023, but could not play due to injury, and will hope to make it to Indian Wells this year.