Qatar TotalEnergies Open Conditions
While this is a hard-court tournament, it doesn’t play like many others. The conditions in Doha are extremely slow, the ball bounces high and the wind can occasionally be out of control. Considering all of that, this tournament can be quite gritty—a reason why Swiatek has won this tournament three years in a row. So, while powerful players can absolutely have success in Doha, it is important to keep in mind that defending the baseline at a high level can be very valuable in this tournament.
Qatar TotalEnergies Open Players To Watch
Ons Jabeur (40-1): Jabeur put up a great fight in a 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (4) loss to Rybakina in the Abu Dhabi quarterfinals, and the Tunisian is starting to look a lot like the player that made it to three Grand Slam finals between 2022 and 2023. To start the 2025 season, Jabeur is 8-4 in WTA-level matches, including wins over Danielle Collins and Jelena Ostapenko.
Jabeur’s break percentage is an outrageous 39.8% through 12 matches, so she’s consistently getting into her opponent’s service games. The Tunisian just hasn’t been able to win points behind her first serve, doing so just 65.0% of the time. When she was at her best, that number was a little closer to 70. But Jabeur is making more first serves (60.2%) than she has in any year in her career, so it feels like it’s only a matter of time before she starts to figure things out. She needs to just be a little better about hitting ambitious targets, either setting up unreturnable shots or putting her in positions for serve-plus-ones. Once she does, she’s going to start to be a consistent presence late in tournaments.
Jabeur should also benefit from the court speeds in Doha. While 2024 was a down season for her, she played her best tennis on clay. Well, these slow, unpredictable hard courts should favor that same skill set. Jabeur is also in a somewhat reasonable quarter. A second-round meeting with Zheng would be tough, but it’s not crazy to think that Jabeur’s best tennis would be enough there. Her peak Elo rating is actually slightly higher than Zheng’s, so we’re going to find out quickly whether Jabeur is fully back.
