What WTA Finals rules say in case of replacement players as Elina Svitolina withdraws from Tokyo event

Elina Svitolina has withdrawn from next week’s WTA 500 event in Tokyo - the second tournament in a row she is set to miss.

The Ukrainian has kept a low profile since the split, withdrawing from this week’s WTA event in Ningbo, China, before being removed from the Pan Pacific Open entry list ahead of the Tokyo tournament, which runs from October 26 to November 1.

Svitolina has secured her place at the WTA Finals for the first time since finishing runner-up in 2019. She had already played in the mandatory 500 events in 2026, so was under obligation to play in Tokyo.

However, should her absence extend any further, it could offer a fellow player an unlikely WTA Finals reprieve - as would be the case if another player was to withdraw.

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What happens if Elina Svitolina, or another player, drops out of WTA Finals?

The WTA designates official alternates in case a player pulls out of the Finals.

The alternate is typically the next-highest-ranked player in the WTA rankings. But here’s where things become complicated.

In this case, that would be six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek, who ended a season without a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2021 and missed the WTA Finals for the first time in seven years.

However, Swiatek opted to cut short her 2026 campaign earlier this month after picking up a thigh injury.

With Swiatek potentially unavailable, Svitolina’s compatriot Marta Kostyuk would be next in line as the world No. 10. However, she also appears to be struggling with an injury, having retired from her second-round match at the Ningbo Open this week with a wrist problem.

If Svitolina were to withdraw, her place at the WTA Finals could therefore go to world No. 11 Iva Jovic. The American could secure the alternate spot after beating Jasmine Paolini to reach the quarter-finals in Ningbo.

Elina Svitolina announces split from Gael Monfils

On Monday, Svitolina announced the end of her marriage with former tennis player Gael Monfils, citing the emotional impact of the war in Ukraine.

The pair had been married since 2021, have a four-year old daughter together and only a few months ago joined forces to reach the semi-finals of the US Open Mixed Doubles Championship.

"This is the most difficult thing I have ever had to share," she wrote in an Instagram post. "Everyone knows how much Ukraine means to me. What I have rarely spoken about is what the war has done to me inside.

"With time, I came to understand that I need to find my way back to myself and that I cannot do that within our marriage.

"It is the hardest truth I have ever had to face and the hardest thing I have ever had to tell the person I love. Gael listened. He has respected what I need with a strength and grace I will never forget.”

She added: "Skai will always come first. Our marriage is ending, but our family is not."

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