WTA Finals 2023 - Sabalenka, Swiatek & Gauff lead women's tennis season-ender: Preview, schedule, how to watch

The biggest title on the WTA Tour is on offer this coming week (29 October-5 November) in Cancun, Mexico.

The WTA Finals makes its way back to Mexico for a second time in three years after being held in Guadalajara in 2021. All four major champions from the 2023 women's tennis season, including Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Marketa Vondrousova and Coco Gauff, are set to feature in the elite eight-player field.

It's unlike any other week on tour, with players set to be divided into two separate four-player groups. They'll contest three round-robin matches each, with the top two finishers from each group advancing to the final four knockout stage.

The same goes for the eight-team doubles field, top seeds Gauff and her partner, Jessica Pegula, who is also set to compete in singles.

Sabalenka, Swiatek, Vondrousova, Gauff and Pegula are joined by 2022 Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina, fan favourite Ons Jabeur and Maria Sakkari, who recently won the biggest title of her career not far from Cancun in Guadalajara.

Sakkari replaced 2023 French Open runner-up Karolina Muchova, who withdrew from the event due to a lingering wrist injury.

The players have been broken into two groups - named for areas of natural beauty and places of cultural significance across the Quintana Roo (Cancun) region. Sabalenka, Rybakina, Pegula and Sakkari have landed in the Bacalar Group, while Swiatek, Gauff, Jabeur and Vondrousova are in the Chetumal Group.

See a full preview of the action below, a preliminary schedule of the action and tune-in information for the action from Cancun.

WTA Finals 2023: Swiatek, Sabalenka play for No.1

Who has the momentum heading to the Gulf of Mexico? Gauff is riding high off of her chilling US Open victory, and continued that success into the Asian swing, tallying a 16-match win streak (starting in August) before being stopped in the Beijing semifinals by Swiatek.

Each of Swiatek (Beijing), Jabeur (Ningbo) and Pegula (Seoul) have tournament victories in the last few weeks, while Rybakina handed Sabalenka her first official loss as the world No.1 since the 25-year-old took over the top ranking after the US Open. Rybakina beat Sabalenka in the Beijing quarters.

"I'm happy that after US Open I just got back to basics and just worked really hard tennis-wise," Swiatek, who lost in the fourth round in New York (and subsequently gave up the world's top spot), said after her Beijing win, her 16th career title. "I am staying positive and focused on the future."

With points dropping off from last year's WTA Finals, Swiatek does have the chance to re-claim the year-end No.1 ranking from Sabalenka, but will need a strong performance overall.

The field offers an array of styles: The power and aggressive play of Sabalenka and Rybakina; the all-court athleticism and defense-to-offense ability of Swiatek, Gauff and Sakkari; the tricky, angular nature of Jabeur and Vondrousova (the lone lefty); and the lethal consistency of Pegula.

WTA Finals 2023: Player field

Singles

Bacalar Group

Aryna Sabalenka
Jessica Pegula (USA)
Elena Rybakina (KAZ)
Maria Sakkari (GRE) [replaces Muchova]

Chetumal Group

Iga Swiatek (POL)
Coco Gauff (USA)
Ons Jabeur (TUN)
Marketa Vondrousova (CZE)

Doubles

• Gauff/Pegula (USA)
• Storm Hunter (AUS)/Elise Mertens (BEL)
• Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova (CZE)
• Demi Schuurs (NED)/Desirae Krawczyk (USA)
• Aoyama Shuko/Shibahara Ena (JPN)
• Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA)/Ellen Perez (AUS)
• Gabriela Dabrowski (CAN)/Erin Routliffe (NZL)
• Laura Siegemund (GER)/Vera Zvonareva

WTA Finals 2023: Schedule of play

All times are listed in local Cancun time, Mexico EST. (GMT -5)

Sunday, 29 October - Friday, 3 November

• 1430 - Doubles RR
• Not before 1700 - Singles RR
• Not before 1800 - Singles RR
• Followed by doubles RR

Saturday, 4 November 

• 1430 - Doubles SFs
• Not before 1700 - Singles SFs
• Not before 1800 - Singles SFs
• Followed by doubles SFs

Sunday, 5 November

• 1630 Doubles final
• 1900 Singles final 

You can see a full schedule of play here.

WTA Finals 2023: TV tune-in and livestream info

ESPN will host coverage for Mexican and Central American fans, while Tennis Channel will carry the action in the U.S. 

Other notable broadcasters include:

• Australia, France - beIN
• Czechia - O2 TV
• Japan - DAZN
• Poland - Canal+
• UK & Ireland - Prime Video

You can find a full list of WTA partner broadcasters here.