Dubai Championships draw: Pegula, Zheng and Rybakina, Bencic could meet in quarters
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Eight of the world's Top 10 in the PIF WTA Rankings are in Dubai this week for the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, the second 1000-event on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz.
Among those include defending champion Mirra Andreeva, who then at 17 years old, became the youngest WTA 1000 champion since the format began in 2009. With World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 2 Iga Swiatek pulling out of the event, Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina is the top seed followed by Amanda Anisimova and Coco Gauff.
Below is a breakdown of each quarter in the draw, including notable first-round matches and potential quarterfinal showdowns. To view the full draws, click here.
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First quarter
Top-seeded Rybakina heads this quarter of the draw, and has a bye into the second round in addition to Elina Svitolina. Among other players in this quarter include Belinda Bencic, Emma Raducanu and Karolina Muchova, who is playing in the Doha final later Saturday evening.
First-round match to watch
Zeynep Sonmez vs. Sara Bejlek: Bejlek seemingly came out of nowhere with her championship run in Abu Dhabi out of qualifiers, taking down Clara Tauson, Ekaterina Alexandrova and Jelena Ostapenko. It'll be interesting to see if she can continue the strong form against Sonmez, who's seeking that next big statement win after her win in Merida 2024.
Potential quarterfinal showdown
Elena Rybakina [1] vs. Belinda Bencic [9]: Surprisingly, these two veteran players have only met three times on the WTA Tour, most recently in Bencic's 2025 Abu Dhabi campaign -- their previous two meetings came in 2021. Depsite a hot start at the United Cup, Bencic was ousted in the second round at the Australian Open and withdrew from Abu Dhabi and Doha because of illness. A matchup with Rybakina, one of the tour's top players currently, would be a thrilling match and test of Bencic's level.
Second quarter
Past Dubai champions Jasmine Paolini (2024) and Ostapenko (2022) are in this quarter of the draw, led by World No. 4 Gauff as the highest seed. Among other seeded players include Linda Noskova [10] and Emma Navarro [14], who join Gauff among those going to Dubai after second-round exits in Doha. Cluj-Napoca champion Sorana Cirstea and fan favorite Alexandra Eala could meet in the Round of 16 if they win their first two matches.
First-round match to watch
Jelena Ostapenko vs. Anna Kalinskaya: Ostapenko seeks her first win in four tries over Kalinskaya, though they haven't faced each other since Miami 2024. Both come off strong runs in Doha as Ostapenko reached the semifinals in singles and is playing in the doubles final Saturday, too. Kalinskaya lost the quarterfinals to Karolina Muchova, but the finish has been her best result of the young season. Marie Bouzkova vs. Elise Mertens and Noskova vs. Ann Li are among other first-round matches in this quarter.
Potential quarterfinal showdown
Coco Gauff [3] vs. Alexandra Eala: Gauff seeks to get back on track after a pair of underwhelming matches in her Australian Open quarterfinal loss to Svitolina and Doha second-round defeat to Elisabetta Cocciaretto. She'll need to stand her ground the winner Ostapenko vs. Kalinskaya in the second round, and potentially Navarro or Mertens to reach the quarterfinals. As for Eala, it's not an easy road, but it's possible, given the recent singles struggles of Paolini. This matchup, as with any Eala match, would draw a huge crowd interest.
Third quarter
This quarter of the draw has some heavy hitters in Jessica Pegula, Iva Jovic, Maria Sakkari, Zheng Qinwen, Alexandrova and more. Pegula heads to Dubai after electing to forego Doha in her first tournament since her Australian Open semifinal run. 2025 finalist Tauson is also in this quarter and will face Sofia Kenin in the first round.
First-round match to watch
Iva Jovic [16] vs. Maria Sakkari: This has the feel of a quarterfinal matchup, given Jovic's quarterfinal run at the Australian Open and Sakkari's strong performance to the semifinals in Doha, but they will face for the first time in singles. Sakkari is starting to find momentum to her game, taking down Iga Swiatek in Doha, but she opens Dubai with a massive test in Jovic. Jovic, just 18, cracked the top 20 after Melbourne.
Potential quarterfinal showdown
Jessica Pegula [4] vs. Zheng Qinwen: Zheng might've been ousted in the Round of 16, but if her play in Doha was any indication -- her first tournament in five months -- the elbow injury recovery has been perfectly smooth. She notched 20 aces vs. Sofia Kenin, defeated Alycia Parks in three sets and took the Australian Open champion Rybakina the distance in a 6-4, 2-6, 5-7 defeat. In just one meeting, Pegula has the lone victory in Eastbourne 2023, and the American is in great form after her showing in Melbourne.
Fourth quarter
The reigning champion Andreeva [5] finds herself in final quarter of the draw and will await the winner of Laura Siegemund and Daria Kasatkina in the second round. She's the second-highest seed in the fourth quarter, behind Amanda Anisimova [2], who returns to action after retiring in her Doha second-round match to Karolina Pliskova because of illness.
2023 champion Barbora Krejcikova, rising star Janice Tjen and Victoria Mboko, who is playing in her second WTA 1000 final Saturday in Qatar, round out some of the notable names in this quarter.
First-round match to watch
Liudmila Samsonova [13] vs. Leylah Fernandez: Aside from Samsonova vs. Fernandez, the first-round matches in this quarter are all solid, including Mboko vs. Jaqueline Cristian, Dayana Yastremska vs Tjen [WC] and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs. Krejcikova. As for this matchup, this will be the fourth meeting between Fernandez and Samsonova on the WTA Tour, and both come off first-round exits in Doha.
Potential quarterfinal showdown
Amanda Anisimova [2] vs. Victoria Mboko [11]: Win or loss vs. Muchova in the Doha final Saturday, Mboko will have a tough turnaround for Dubai, but if she builds off her momentum, there's a possibility for a Mboko-Anisimova showdown in the quarterfinals. It would be their first meeting on the WTA Tour, and with Mboko projected to be in the top 10 in the PIF WTA Rankings Monday, a top-10 quarterfinal could be in the works.