The empire tries to strike back in Dubai
Last week in Doha, four of the top eight seeds—Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Zheng Qinwen, and Emma Navarro—were gone after round two. The only Top 10 player who made the semifinals, Iga Swiatek, was bulldozed out of the tournament by Jelena Ostapenko.
Is it time for order to be restored? That’s not how the Doha-Dubai has worked in recent years. Since 2022, Swiatek, the world No. 1, has dominated Doha, and a surprise winner—Jasmine Paolini, Barbora Krejcikova, Ostapenko—has followed in Dubai.
In a field this strong—10 of the WTA’s Top 12 are in action—it’s easy to imagine that this week will bring more surprises. It’s even easier to imagine when you see the top seeds’ potential opening-round opponents. For Sabalenka, it could be the woman who beat her last week, Ekaterina Alexandrova. For Gauff, it may be Doha champ Amanda Anisimova. For Rybakina, it may be Doha’s runner-up, Ostapenko.
