The 2026 WTA Finals will be held in Indian Wells, California, instead of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia was contracted to host one last WTA Finals in 2026; however, due to several reasons, including tensions in the Middle East, it won’t welcome the top eight players in women’s tennis this November.
Instead, the WTA Finals will return to the United States and Indian Wells, California, which hosts a WTA 1000 event every March.
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The first player to win the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia, Coco Gauff, has now shared her thoughts on the move.
Coco Gauff is ‘really happy’ the WTA Finals has moved to Indian Wells
During her latest post-match press conference at Wimbledon, Gauff was asked about the decision to move the WTA Finals to Indian Wells.
“Yeah, I’m really biased, so I’m really happy it’s in the U.S,” she said.
“As an American player, I think it’s cool.
“It’s going to be weird to be in Indian Wells in November. I’m very curious if we’re going to be playing in the night, day. I hope the day because I feel like it’s going to be a little chilly at night!”
Indian Wells is normally held in March, not November, although the event did take place during the month of October in 2021.
On that occasion, Gauff lost in the third round to Paula Badosa, the eventual champion.
Gauff is excited by the move, but spared a moment to remember her triumph in Saudi Arabia.
“Obviously, I have a great memory in Saudi [Arabia], playing and winning my title there two years ago,” she said.
“We had a warm reception from them. I think it was really cool just to bring… I think it was the first women’s professional tennis event being held there, so it was really cool just to bring a different demographic, or bring our sport to a different demographic who hasn’t experienced it before.”
Gauff continued, sharing her one hope for the future of the WTA Finals.
“Obviously, like I said, biased. It’s cool to have it in the States,” she said.
“Definitely would like to see a more permanent home for it.
“Don’t know how long it’s going to be in Indian Wells. I’m assuming just this year.
“But hopefully eventually we can find, wherever it is, a more permanent home.”
The WTA Finals have struggled to find a permanent home ever since they left Singapore after a five-year stint in 2018.
Every WTA Finals host location
| Year(s) | Location | Venue | Champions |
| 1972-1973 | Boca Raton, USA | Boca Raton Hotel & Club | Chris Evert (x2) |
| 1974-1976 | Los Angeles, USA | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena | Evonne Goolagong (x2), Chris Evert |
| 1977 | New York City, USA | Madison Square Garden | Chris Evert |
| 1978 | Oakland, USA | Oakland Arena | Martina Navratilova |
| 1979-2000 | New York City, USA | Madison Square Garden | Martina Navratilova (x7), Steffi Graf (x5), Monica Seles (x3), Gabriela Sabatini (x2), Martina Hingis (x2), Tracy Austin, Sylvia Hanika, Jana Novotna, Lindsay Davenport |
| 2001 | Munich, Germany | Olympiahalle | Serena Williams |
| 2002-2005 | Los Angeles, USA | Staples Centre | Kim Clijsters (x2), Maria Sharapova, Amelie Mauresmo |
| 2006-2007 | Madrid, Spain | Madrid Arena | Justine Henin (x2) |
| 2008-2010 | Doha, Qatar | Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex | Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters |
| 2011-2013 | Istanbul, Turkey | Sinan Erdem Dome | Serena Williams (x2), Petra Kvitova |
| 2014-2018 | Singapore, Singapore | Singapore Indoor Stadium | Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska, Dominika Cibulkova, Caroline Wozniacki, Elina Svitolina |
| 2019 | Shenzhen, China | Shenzhen Bay Sports Center | Ashleigh Barty |
| 2021 | Guadalajara, Mexico | Panamerican Tennis Center | Garbine Muguruza |
| 2022 | Fort Worth, USA | Dickies Arena | Caroline Garcia |
| 2023 | Cancun, Mexico | Estadios Paradisus | Iga Swiatek |
| 2024-2025 | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | King Sauud University Indoor Arena | Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina |
| 2026 | Indian Wells, USA | Indian Wells Tennis Garden | – |
After one-year stays in Shenzhen, Guadalajara, Fort Worth, and Cancun, it looked as though Riyadh would play host to the WTA Finals for the foreseeable future, but they are back on the road again.
Several cities are said to be in contention to host the WTA Finals from 2027, including Gdansk, Poland, and Charlotte, USA.
It remains to be seen where the year-end championships move to next, but for now, the top players in the women’s game will have their sights set on Indian Wells.
Will Coco Gauff benefit from the WTA Finals moving to Indian Wells?
Historically, Gauff hasn’t played her best tennis at Indian Wells.
She has been past the fourth round twice, reaching the quarters in 2023 and the semis in 2024.
However, Gauff struggled in 2025 and 2026, losing in the fourth round and third round respectively.
It is important to note that the conditions will be different at the WTA Finals, due to the weather, and only time will tell if that will work in her favour.
Gauff won’t want to get ahead of herself, assuming she will qualify for the event, either, as she currently sits seventh in the ‘Live WTA Race’.
Live WTA Race
- 1. Mirra Andreeva – 4,999 points
- 2. Aryna Sabalenka – 4,835 points
- 3. Elena Rybakina – 4,567 points
- 4. Elina Svitolina – 4,116 points
- 5. Jessica Pegula – 3,650 points
- 6. Karolina Muchova – 3,100 points
- 7. Coco Gauff – 2,834 points
- 8. Marta Kostyuk – 2,565 points
- 9. Victoria Mboko – 2,393 points
- 10. Sorana Cirstea – 1,985 points
She could do with a deep run at Wimbledon to improve her chances of qualifying for the WTA Finals in November.
After winning a three-set thriller against Solana Sierra in the second round, Gauff will return to take on her countrywoman, Claire Liu, in the third round on Friday, July 3.
