Spaniard Carlos Alcarras qualified for his third final since the US Open, after defeating Norwegian Casper Ruud with a score of 6/4, 6/4 in the semi-finals of the Paris Championship.
Alkaras, the second seed, will face the third seed, Ben Shelton, in the final match, after the American succeeded in coming back in the decisive set, despite falling behind with a break of serve, to defeat Frenchman Luca Van Assche with a score of 5/7, 6/3, 6/4.
Alkaras is ahead of Shelton in direct confrontations with a score of 3:1, but he lost the last meeting between them in a marathon match in the quarter-finals of the US Open, which extended until late and ended at 3:33 in the morning.
“I really want to get revenge on Ben,” Alkaras said. “The previous confrontation was very difficult.” “I will try to do different things in crucial and important moments, which I may not have handled well last time.”
Alkaras is seeking to achieve his fifth title this year, after winning the Vienna Championship last Sunday, and the twenty-ninth title in his professional career.
Kazakhstani Elena Rybakina, ranked number one in the world, will not be able to conclude her season by retaining her title in the final tournament of the season of the Women’s Professional Players Association, after she announced her withdrawal due to her health condition.
Rybakina said: “I feel very sad to inform my fans that, unfortunately, I have to withdraw from this year’s WTA Championship! "It's been a great season, but my body is simply not physically ready to compete."
Rybakina was previously forced to withdraw from the Tokyo tournament in late October due to a neck injury.
Pribakina will be replaced by Ukrainian player Marta Kostyuk, ranked tenth in the world; She begins her participation on Sunday by facing Czech Linda Noskova.
The Kazakh, born in Moscow, withdrew after presenting the best season in her career. She won the Australian Open at the beginning of the year and the US Open in September, which pushed her to the top of the world rankings at the expense of Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka.
The 27-year-old player was going to enter the WTA tournament, which begins on Sunday in Indian Wells, California, as the “most prominent candidate” and the title holder.
The tournament, which brings together the best eight players during the season, was supposed to be held again in the Saudi capital, as it has been since 2024, but it was moved to Indian Wells, more than three hours’ drive from Los Angeles, due to the war between the United States and Iran, which led to the cancellation of a number of sporting events in the Middle East.
Rybakina won the previous edition at the expense of her competitor Sabalenka, ranked second in the world, in Riyadh.
Since her accession to the throne in September, the Kazakhstani has sought to send a new message to her rival Sabalenka that she undisputedly deserves the top spot in women's tennis, after she defeated the Belarusian in the finals of the two major tournaments.
Rybakina's withdrawal could change the balance of power, which could give Sabalenka the opportunity to win the title, especially after losing in the final twice in 2022 and 2025.
In Indian Wells, the eight “best of the season” players reach familiar ground; The city hosts one of the Thousand Points tournaments annually in March.
Sabalenka, currently ranked second in the world, who at the beginning of the year won the American tournament title at the expense of Rybakina, said: “I am very happy to return to Indian Wells. “I have a lot of good memories here.” But she added: “I feel that it is a completely different tournament, both in terms of atmosphere and organization.”
For her part, Coco Gauff, ranked fourth in the world and winner of the 2024 edition, said: “It is strange to be here, and to sit to eat at the table designated for female players with all this space (...) It is nice to be able, in some way, to walk around the site and really enjoy it, which is something that is not usually available to us.”
Playing in Kostyuk's group is the American, her compatriot Jessica Pegula (seeded fifth) and the Czech Linda Noskova (eighth). As for Sabalenka, she fell into a group that included world number three Russian Mira Andreeva, Ukrainian Elina Svitolina (sixth), and Czech Karolina Muchova (seventh).
Whatever the result, the Belarusian, who has won four major titles, will not be able to regain first place. Rybakina ensured that she remained at the top of the world rankings until the end of the year. But she will seek to win her first title in the final tournament, a title that has repeatedly eluded her, especially after losing the final in 2022 and 2025, by “stopping hesitating so much, and relying on my intuition.”
Each player will face the other three players in her group starting Sunday. Each victory awards three points, and the first and second places in each group qualify for the semi-finals scheduled for November 14, with the final being held on November 15.
Spaniard Cesc Fabregas, coach of the Como team, said that his team’s match against Inter Milan on Sunday will be a major test to measure the progress the team has made.
Inter Milan, which is in second place, lost its unbeaten record in the Italian League this season after losing 3-1 to its traditional rival Milan in the city derby last week, and the blue and black team is seeking to return to victories in the competition.
For its part, Como's team is having a very distinguished season, as it occupies fourth place, only two places behind Inter Milan, and has achieved six consecutive victories in various competitions, the last of which was a landslide victory over French club Lens 9-1 in the Champions League.
In a press conference, Fabregas said: “It seems that you ask me every week about a new test of our team’s maturity.”
He added: "We knew that this season would be exceptional for us. There is great motivation, but we are well aware of our path."
He continued: “This is an important match; Because we are going through a good period, but it remains just a test to see how far we can reach. Inter Milan remains the strongest team in Italy, and we will see our true level after this confrontation.”
It is noteworthy that Inter Milan represents a node for Cuomo since his promotion in 2024.
In the six confrontations between the two teams since that rise, Como did not succeed in achieving any victory over Inter Milan, and was content with a single draw in the first leg of the Italian Cup semi-final, while losing in the other five matches.
