The year's final major tennis tournament begins on Saturday when the sport's highest-ranked athletes descend on Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to compete in the 2024 WTA Finals.

Featuring the eight best singles players and eight best doubles teams, Slam winners and Olympic medalists alike will compete for the Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova trophies before the winter break.

Also up for grabs is a piece of the record $15.25 million prize pool, larger than any Grand Slam purse and a nearly 70% increase over the 2023 pot. Should the champions go undefeated through the tournament, the singles winner will bank $5.155 million, while the top doubles duo will take home $1.125 million.

Eight days of elite tennis action

In both the WTA Finals singles and doubles categories, competitors are split into two groups of four.

Each singles player or doubles pair will play all others in their group for a total of three matches across the first six days. The top two in each group will then compete in the November 8th semifinals, with both finals set for November 9th.

In the singles contest, the Purple Group includes No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 4 Jasmine Paolini, No. 5 Elena Rybakina, and No. 7 Qinwen Zheng, while the Orange Group lists No. 2 Iga Świątek, No. 3 Coco Gauff, No. 6 Jessica Pegula, and No. 8 Barbora Krejčíková.

In both competitions, 25% of the top eight athletes represent the USA. Along with Gauff and Pegula on the singles court, the doubles tournament includes No. 5 US duo Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk as well as Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Taylor Townsend in the Nos. 6 and 8 pairs, respectively.

Will Sabalenka play Świątek at the WTA Finals?

A showdown between Sabalenka and 2023 WTA Finals champion Świątek could be the event's blockbuster match. The top-ranked players have yet to square off in a major tournament in 2024 — a year rife with highs and lows for both athletes.

Sabalenka started the WTA season by winning her second Australian Open, then later struggled through a shoulder injury that forced her to withdraw from Wimbledon. She capped the Grand Slam season in style, though, winning her first US Open in September.

As for five-time Grand Slam victor Świątek, 2024 brought the Polish phenom her fourth French Open title. A rockier second half to the season — including a third round and quarterfinal ousting from Wimbledon and the US Open, and a fall from the No. 1 ranking for the first time since November 2023 — motivated Świątek to seek a new coach.

How to watch the 2024 WTA Finals tennis tournament

The 2024 WTA Finals kicks off on Saturday, when US Open winner Sabalenka plays 2024 Olympic gold medalist Zheng at 11 AM ET.

Later, 2023 US Open champ Gauff will take on 2024 US Open runner-up Pegula at 8:45 AM ET on Sunday.

All 2024 WTA Finals matches will be broadcast live on the Tennis Channel.

Hit JWS podcast The Late Sub is back in action. We're kicking off a brand new season with staff writer Claire Watkins’s expert takes on the world of women’s soccer. And we're starting with the youth movement in the USWNT.

This week, Watkins talks through USWNT star Trinity Rodman’s splashy return. She later discusses the national team's current youth development movement. Lastly, she tackles head coach Emma Hayes's quest to find a successor for retired starting goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher. And all the while, she gives her own women's soccer analysis.

"McGlynn stresses me out sometimes. She’s a player with a high upside, and also sometimes she does have those mental moments," Watkins says of USWNT goalie prospect Mandy McGlynn.

"I like [Phallon] Tullis-Joyce, would love to see a lot more from her," the host said of another top goalie contender, currently rostered at Manchester United. "I think she deserves more call-ups."

About 'The Late Sub' with Claire Watkins

The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes on all things USWNT, NWSL, and all things women's soccer. Special guest appearances featuring the biggest names in women’s sports make TLS a must-listen for every soccer fan.

Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women’s Sports newsletter for more.

Subscribe to The Late Sub to never miss an episode.

NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman voiced confidence in the league's ability to execute "ambitious plans" regarding expansion at last week's SheBelieves Summit, telling the crowd that growing to as many as 32 teams is not out of the question.

"Our board believes that we can be the size of the [32-team] NFL," she explained. "There is nothing that stands in the way of us doing that, other than having access to top talent."

"There’s certainly not a problem with the supply, given the size of our country and the level of talent that exists," Berman continued. "We just need to figure out how to develop [those athletes] strategically and intentionally."

Expansion takes backseat as NWSL focuses on 2026 scheduling

With the NWSL's current 14-team field welcoming expansion clubs in Boston and Denver in 2026, the league is still a long ways off from its potential long-term goal of exceeding 30 squads.

Following her remarks at the SheBelieves Summit, Berman told ESPN that while the league is not currently in an expansion round, she is continuing to conduct conversations with interested ownership groups.

Prior to seriously considering continued expansion, however, the league must first contend with some scheduling hurdles affecting the 2026 NWSL season.

Berman noted that while the NWSL expects to play throughout next year’s US-based men’s World Cup, certain anticipated venue conflicts will require creative solutions to do so, with the commissioner noting that "everything’s on the table" when it comes to addressing the overlaps.

Two-time WNBA champion Kelsey Plum dropped her 12-player 2025 Dawg Class roster on Wednesday, inviting another generation of college talent to join her at an Under Armour training camp designed to help NCAA athletes transition to the pros.

The new LA Sparks guard experienced her own growing pains in making the professional leap. In response, Plum launched the camp in 2023, aiming to specifically address those struggles and aid future pros.

Each year, Plum invites both graduating and returning NCAA stars to the training camp, hoping to help them overcome or even bypass some of the hurdles she encountered when entering the WNBA.

"Dawg Class is all about changing the game for the next generation of women's basketball players," explained Plum before the 2024 edition.

"All of these athletes have extraordinary talent and skill, and it is my mission to help them with that transition to the next level by cultivating that 'dawg' mentality — the grit, self-confidence and work ethic — to continue to succeed and evolve in their careers."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

2025 Dawg Camp taps NCAA champions, star freshmen

Now entering its third iteration, newly crowned Final Four Most Outstanding Player Azzi Fudd and her UConn teammate and fellow 2025 NCAA champ KK Arnold are both making Dawg Class returns — Fudd took part in the 2023 edition while Arnold capped her freshman season at Plum's 2024 camp.

Also returning to the elite roster are 2024 alums Shyanne Sellers (Maryland) and Georgia Amoore (Kentucky), with Amoore having featured on all three Dawg Class rosters so far.

Both Amoore and Sellers, as well as first-time invitee and Harvard senior Harmoni Turner — the 2024/25 Beck Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year — are turning pro this year, with the trio hoping to hear their names called during Monday's 2025 WNBA Draft.

Like Turner, eight other top college athletes are also making their Dawg Class debuts this year, including a quartet of the NCAA's most impressive freshmen: Michigan's Syla Swords, Ohio State's Jaloni Cambridge, USC's Kayleigh Heckel, and Vanderbilt's Mikayla Blakes.

Kelsey Plum's 2025 Under Armour Dawg Class

• Georgia Amoore*, Kentucky
• KK Arnold, UConn
• Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt
• Zoe Brooks, NC State
• Jaloni Cambridge, Ohio State
• Azzi Fudd, UConn
• Kayleigh Heckel, USC
• Ashlon Jackson, Duke
• Tessa Johnson, South Carolina
• Shyanne Sellers*, Maryland
• Syla Swords, Michigan
• Harmoni Turner*, Harvard

*denotes players who have declared for the 2025 WNBA Draft

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved a proposal to expand the women’s soccer tournament from 12 to 16 teams for the 2028 LA Olympics on Wednesday, solidifying the event’s international importance as the women's game continues to see skyrocketing growth.

"We wanted to do something to reflect that growth, and equally with the United States being the home of the highest level of popularity of women's football," IOC sports director Kit McConnell said on Wednesday.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

IOC balloons multiple 2028 LA Olympics women's events

Soccer isn't the only women's event expanding, with additional IOC decisions pushing the total number of women athletes participating in the 2028 LA Games over the 50% line.

The women’s water polo field will grow from 10 to 12 teams to align with the men’s competition, while 3×3 basketball will expand its field from eight teams to 12.

Even more, women’s boxing will gain an additional weight category, and the IOC will incorporate new mixed events across several other Olympic sports.

Ultimately, increased parity will only intensify competition, with the IOC making moves to keep the Olympics in line with the continued demand for and rise of women's sports.

"The message of gender equality is a really important one for us," added McConnell.