Two top 15 players in Auckland in 2026: Svitolina and Navarro join the participant lineup for the tournament in New Zealand
From January 5 to 11, 2026, the WTA 250 tournament in Auckland will welcome Elina Svitolina and Emma Navarro, who will be in the New Zealand city to fine-tune their preparation for the Australian Open.
The 2025 WTA tour season concluded after Elena Rybakina's triumph at the WTA Finals in Riyadh. The tournaments opening the 2026 season are beginning to announce the players who will take part in their events, and this is notably the case for the Auckland tournament.
The 2026 edition is scheduled for January 5-11, one week before the ATP tour edition which saw Gaël Monfils triumph over Zizou Bergs this year. Furthermore, the Frenchman's wife, Elina Svitolina, will indeed be present in New Zealand in the coming weeks to kick off her 2026 season.
The Ukrainian, currently world No. 14, ended her 2025 season as early as September after the Billie Jean King Cup Final 8, and thus did not participate in the Asian tour. A finalist in Auckland in 2024 against Coco Gauff, she will participate in this tournament for the second time in her career.
Another top 15 player participating in the 2026 Auckland tournament is Emma Navarro. Ranked 15th by the WTA this week, the American player also participated in the 2024 edition, losing to Coco Gauff, the eventual tournament winner. Svitolina and Navarro join Lulu Sun and Venus Williams in the main draw lineup.
Davis Cup: between reforms, criticism and national culture 
The paradox dividing tennis: exhausted players and a saturated calendar, yet ever more exhibitions 
Training future champions: spotlight on the decline of the French public model facing private academies 
Is padel threatening tennis? Inside the revolution shaking up the established order 
