Karolina Muchova clinches the last WTA Finals spot after Marta Kostyuk retires in Ningbo

Karolina Muchova is going to the WTA Finals and she did not have to play a match this week to get there.

The Czech star locked up the eighth and final spot for the season-ending event on Wednesday when Marta Kostyuk retired from her second-round match at the Ningbo Open in China. Kostyuk needed to reach the Ningbo final to keep Muchova out.

Kostyuk dropped the first set 6-4 to Ekaterina Alexandrova and then stopped after a medical timeout. She missed the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in September with a wrist injury and said the problem had returned.

"I need to give it more time"

The Ukrainian wrote on social media that the pain in her wrist had come back. "I know I need to give it more time to recover," she wrote.

Iga Swiatek had also been in the race for the last spot. She pulled out of Ningbo with a thigh injury and said she was ending her season early.

A big year for Muchova

The finals add to a standout 2026 for Muchova. She reached the Wimbledon final against Linda Noskova and then teamed with Noskova to win the Billie Jean King Cup for the Czech Republic.

Muchova joins Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka, Mirra Andreeva, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, Elina Svitolina and Noskova in the field. The WTA Finals run Nov. 8 to 15 in Indian Wells, California.

In Ningbo, Alexandrova moves on to a quarterfinal against Leylah Fernandez. The Canadian beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-3 for her 11th win in her last 14 matches.