Muchova and Pegula climb Race Leaderboard with WTA 1000 titles during Middle East swing
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The WTA Tour season recently concluded the Middle East Swing, headlined by back-to-back WTA 1000 events -- the Qatar TotalEnergies Open in Doha and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
The month of February also featured a WTA 500 stop in Abu Dhabi and two WTA 250 events in Cluj-Napoca and Ostrava, all factoring into the Race Leaderboard
MIDDLE EAST SWING LEADS TO NEW NO. 2
Following the Middle East swing, Jessica Pegula moved into second place on the Leaderboard after winning the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. The title, her first of the season and the fourth WTA 1000 crown of her career, earned her 1,000 points and added to semifinal finishes at the Australian Open and the Brisbane International earlier this year.
Karolina Muchova won her first WTA 1000 title in Doha, earning 1,000 race points and climbing from No. 13 to No. 6 on the Leaderboard. Muchova’s season also includes a semifinal run at the Brisbane International and a Round of 16 finish at the Australian Open.
While Muchova and Pegula captured titles, Elina Svitolina and Victoria Mboko both made significant gains on the Leaderboard as finalists at Dubai and Doha, respectively. Svitolina currently sits at No. 4 on the Leaderboard, while Mboko is at No. 5.
RYBAKINA REMAINS NO. 1
Through the first two months of the season, Elena Rybakina remains atop the Leaderboard. After starting the season by capturing the title at the Australian Open, she reached the quarterfinals in Doha, adding to her lead.
Rybakina qualified at the last possible moment during 2025's PIF Race to the WTA Finals and went on to win a record-breaking $5.235m as the champion.
The Race Leaderboard determines the qualifiers for the WTA Finals and tracks which players have made the strongest start to the 2026 season.
TOP DOUBLES TEAM ADDS TO LEAD
In doubles, the team of Anna Danilina and Aleksandra Krunic remain atop the Leaderboard while earning 1,390 points during the swing with a title run in Doha and a semifinal performance in Dubai.
With a title run in Dubai, Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani climb to No. 2, with Australian Open champions Elise Mertens and Zhang Shuai at No. 3.
Click here to see the full PIF Race to the WTA Finals Leaderboard in singles and doubles.
The Tour Calendar now shifts to the Sunshine Swing with the BNP Paribas in Indian Wells and the Miami Open presented by Itau set to take place in March. Click here to see the full 2026 WTA calendar.
The WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF features the Top 8 singles and doubles teams on the PIF Race to the WTA Finals Leaderboard (with the 8th spot going to the singles player and doubles team that have won a Grand Slam if ranked No.8 to No.20). This showcases the world’s best eight singles players and doubles teams competing in a round-robin format with the singles champion lifting the WTA Finals Billie Jean King Trophy and the doubles champions earning the WTA Finals Martina Navratilova Trophy.