Who has the most to prove heading into the WTA Finals?
Our Tennis Channel analysts set the table for an intriguing finish to an exciting season.
With the final month of the 2025 season fast approaching, the Tennis Channel team takes a look at the growing ATP and WTA Finals fields and make their expert picks on who has the most to prove, which players on the bubble are most likely to qualify, and which of the men’s and women’s year-end championships will be more exciting.
Next up: Which WTA Player has the most to prove heading into Riyadh?
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CHANDA RUBIN
The WTA player that may feel they have something to prove heading into the end of the season is Elena Rybakina. She began the season with uncertainty and changes in her coaching team and that seemed to overshadow her tennis at times. She's firmly back inside the Top 10 and has a chance to make her third consecutive WTA Finals. Perhaps that is the motivation she needs to end the year on a high note.
STEVE WEISSMAN
Since reaching the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, Mirra Andreeva is 4-4. It's time to finish strong and carry that momentum into 2026, where she should be a contender for her first major title.
PAUL ANNACONE
This is an important time for Coco Gauff to stabilize things in her career. It's been a great year, highlighed by her impeccable run to the Roland Garros title, but there's been some ups and downs in the months since—in large part due to a case of the serving yips. She's admirably sought to solve that problem for good, and she just captured her first WTA 1000 title of the season in Wuhan. Her competitive spirit is second to none, so I think this is a great challenge and she will be really motivated to finish by defending her title in Riyadh.
BRETT HABER
After rising to No. 8 last fall, Emma Navarro has had mixed results in 2025. She won just three matches in five events across the hard-court summer, and lost in the third round of the US Open after reaching the semifinals in 2024. With her win over Iga Swiatek in Beijing, Navarro may be back on a positive trajectory, but a strong finish to the season would amplify that vibe.
JON WERTHEIM
Coco Gauff won one major this year, and yet, at times, seems to be a work in regress, not progress. And it is for reasons that have nothing to do with physical injury. Can she use this time to make inroads on her technique before 2026?