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The ATP 500 event in Dubai is about to begin, headlined by Daniil Medvedev and Alex de Minaur – with defending champion Ugo Humbert facing a tough opener.

At the most recent edition, the Frenchman defeated Alexander Bublik 6-4, 6-3 in the final to lift his sixth career singles title.

Past winners include Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray.

Daniil Medvedev

World No 6 Daniil Medvedev is the event’s top seed.

The Russian is 550 points behind world No 5 Casper Ruud in the rankings, with the Norwegian participating at the ATP 500 in Acapulco – meaning Medvedev must go further than the two-time Grand Slam finalist during their respective tournaments, if he wants to close the gap.

In 2023, Medvedev won the title in Dubai after he defeated Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-2 in the final.

The world No 6 opens his Dubai campaign against the dangerous Jan-Lennard Struff. The German lifted the men’s doubles title in Dubai in 2024, but recently lost to Medvedev at the Marseille event in straight sets.

In the second round, the Russian will face either Zhizhen Zhang or the huge-serving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. The latter opponent would be particularly dangerous in the quick conditions, having won the title in Basel at the end of 2024, before reaching the semi-finals of Brisbane at the beginning of 2025. Mpetshi Perricard did withdraw from his last scheduled event, in Rotterdam, but this was attributed to illness.

A hypothetical quarterfinal for Medvedev would likely feature one of Tallon Griekspoor, Jiri Lehecka, or – more likely – Ugo Humbert. The Frenchman won the event at the 2024 edition, and looks in similarly imperious form, recently lifting the title in Marseille.

In the last four, should he make it, the former US Open champion is projected to face Stefanos Tsitsipas or Grigor Dimitrov.

Alex de Minaur

2025 will mark Alex de Minaur’s third participation at the Dubai event, having also played in 2021 and 2022.

The Australian, however, has not won a match at the tournament and will look to end that streak against ATP veteran Marin Cilic. The Croat played an impressive match against Carlos Alcaraz at the Qatar Open, with the world No 2 ultimately prevailing 6-4, 6-4. Cilic has a competitive 2-2 head-to-head with de Minaur.

In the second round, the world No 8 will likely face fellow countryman Alexei Popyrin who is yet to win a match this season. Popyrin may be far from looking like the player who defeated Novak Djokovic at the 2024 US Open, but he did claim victory in his most recent hard-court match against de Minaur,

The world No 8 is projected to face the eighth seed Arthur Fils in the quarterfinals, but the Frenchman has lost as many matches as he has won in 2025. A more likely last-eight opponent is Felix Auger-Aliassime, who lost a nail-biting third-set tiebreak to Andrey Rublev during their semi-final match in Doha. The Canadian has looked in sensational form, winning a title in both Adelaide and Montpeiller in 2025, and was the victor in both of his hard-court clashes against the Australian.

Alex de Minaur is projected to face either Andrey Rublev or Jack Draper in the semi-finals, both of whom made the final at the Qatar Open. The Australian would likely rather face the Brit, holding a 4-1 lead in their head-to-head compared to a 4-4 record with respect to the Russian.

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Stefanos Tsitsipas against Lorenzo Sonego

Stefanos Tsitsipas will open his Dubai campaign against Lorenzo Sonego.

The Italian has had a relatively disappointing few weeks, but did reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the 2025 Australian Open, where he lost to American Ben Shelton in four sets.

Sonego has a 3-0 deficit in head-to-head matches with the Greek, but their last hard-court meeting did go to a third set and is aided further by Tsitsipas’ lack of consistent form.

Ugo Humbert against Jiri Lehecka

Ugo Humbert will play Jiri Lehecka in the opening round, with both players displaying high-quality levels of play in recent weeks. As stated earlier, the Frenchman won the title in Marseille, with the Czech defeating world No 2 Alcaraz 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in Doha.

The two have never met, and the slick and low-bouncing conditions in Dubai should prove favourable for both.

Karen Khachanov against Dan Evans

In a rematch of the longest US Open match of all-time, at 5 hours and 35 minutes, Karen Khachanov will face off against Dan Evans in the opening round of Dubai.

The Brit has lost six of his last eight matches, including multiple challenger events which Evans has participated in after a disappointing period of results. Meanwhile, Khachanov has lost his last two matches, but those defeats have been to high-quality opponents – eventual finalist Medjedovic in Marseille, and Medvedev in Doha.

Overall, Evans leads the head-to-head 5-0 with their most recent match being that titanic battle in New York.

Matteo Berrettini against Gael Monfils

Finally, Matteo Berrettini plays Gael Monfils in the first round of the ATP 500 in Dubai.

The Italian got his first victory over Novak Djokovic at the Qatar Open, before eventually losing his next match against Jack Draper. Monfils chose to take an extended break following the Australian Open, where he beat Taylor Fritz and reached the fourth round, with the Frenchman having one of his highest-quality Grand Slam runs in recent years.

Berrettini leads the head-to-head 3-0, with both of their Grand Slam meetings going to a fifth set.

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Alexander Zverev squandered a big opportunity to close the gap to Jannik Sinner at the top of the ATP Rankings after his shock exit at the Rio Open.

The German lost 6-4, 3-6, 4-6 to world No 86 Francisco Comesana in the quarter-finals of the clay-court ATP 500 tournament.

The three-time Grand Slam runner-up led 4-1 in the third set, but his 24-year-old Argentine opponent won five straight games from that position to seal a sizeable upset.

Following his defeat to Comesana, Zverev said: “Better level than Buenos Aires, but unfortunate to finish the tournament like this.

“I still enjoyed my time in Rio and hope to come back. It’s one of the most beautiful 500s that I’ve ever played. Shame because I was in a winning position.”

Zverev, the world No 2, was the only top 25 player in the draw in Rio following the withdrawals of Holger Rune and Lorenzo Musetti.

Sebastian Baez, the defending champion and world No 31, is the only top 50 player in the semi-final lineup.

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Speaking earlier in the tournament, Zverev did not hide from the fact that becoming world No 1 for the first time is one of his key objectives.

“I’m not number one in the world yet, but I want to be,” the 27-year-old said. “My goal is to fight for the big titles and the top spot in the rankings with Alcaraz and Sinner. There are things they do better than me. I have to improve.”

With world No 1 Sinner banned from playing on the ATP Tour until May 4 due to failed doping tests, both Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz have a chance to make up ground.

Zverev will remain on the 8,135 points he started the week with after his quarter-final exit in Rio, which leaves him 3,195 points adrift of Sinner. He could have collected a further 400 points had he won the 500 event.

Alcaraz also missed an opportunity this week as he fell in the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open — leaving him with 7,510 points in the live rankings.

Sinner will drop 1,600 while he is on the sidelines, which will put him on 9,730 points when he makes his comeback at the Italian Open in May.

During this period, Zverev is defending 850 points, while Alcaraz will defend 1,400.

The German, therefore, needs to earn 2,446 points, while Alcaraz will require 3,721 points, to overtake Sinner by the time the Rome ATP Masters 1000 event begins.

Zverev will next compete at the Mexican Open, an ATP 500 tournament in Acapulco which begins next week.

READ NEXT: Jimmy Connors makes his feelings clear on Jannik Sinner’s doping ban

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Emma Raducanu’s former coach Roman Kelecic has shed further light on the “terrifying” behaviour of the man who stalked the British star.

An unusual and concerning incident took place during Raducanu‘s 6-7(6), 4-6 loss to Karolina Muchova in the second round of the WTA 1000 event in Dubai.

After falling 0-2 behind in the first set, a visibly distressed Raducanu spoke to the umpire before she hid behind the official’s chair while crying.

Muchova consoled Raducanu, while the umpire spoke to security officials and also had a lengthy discussion with both players before the match resumed.

A man was removed from the stadium during this break, and the WTA later revealed that the same individual had first approached Raducanu in public the day before the match.

A statement from the WTA Tour read: “On Monday, February 17, Emma Raducanu was approached in a public area by a man who exhibited fixated behaviour.

“This same individual was identified in the first few rows during Emma’s match on Tuesday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and subsequently ejected. He will be banned from all WTA events pending a threat assessment.

The man – confirmed to be a tourist in Dubai – has since been handed a restraining order, in return for having charges against him being dropped.

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Kelecic coached Raducanu as a junior and worked with her at the tournaments in Abu Dhabi and Dubai this month.

In an interview with Croatian publication Net, Kelecic divulged that the stalker also followed Raducanu to her previous three events.

“This man followed her to Singapore, to Abu Dhabi where I was with her, again in Doha, now in Dubai and we noticed him,” the Croatian explained.

“But initially we thought he was a fan, an admirer, because Emma is a really big tennis star with a huge fan base. Until he got physically close to her, started having contact in the form of selfies, hugging, etc.”

The coach then provided terrifying insight into the man’s “calculated” plan to approach Raducanu when she was alone.

“That was the only moment in a month where I, the fitness coach, the security guard who was with us, was not with her at that moment,” he continued.

“So, that man was assessing the situation and looking for the best moment to get closer to her. He had a strategy that was terrifying, he thought everything through, calculated it.

“It’s terrifying how much he, in essence, thought about it all and planned it. His strategy worked, and it was to get closer to her.

“That evening we reported it immediately and again in the morning, when she was playing the match, because her safety is the most important thing to us.

“Three or four hours before the match we have a photo of that stalker. Not only us, the entire security at the tournament has his photo and everyone knows who he is.

“The first game, two points gone, 15-15, Emma is on the other side of the court and she’s showing us something. At that moment we didn’t know what it was. Emma loses the first game and runs to us, crying, shouting, ‘here he is, here he is, here he is’.”

READ NEXT: Iga Swiatek reacts to Emma Raducanu’s shocking ordeal and recalls avoiding her own ‘scary’ experience

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Eight-time Grand Slam champion Jimmy Connors has candidly weighed in on Jannik Sinner being banned from tennis for failing doping tests.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced in August that Sinner was free to play as he bore “no fault or negligence” after testing positive for the anabolic steroid clostebol twice in March.

An independent tribunal accepted Sinner’s explanation that the substance had entered his body when receiving a massage from his former physio, who had used a spray containing the steroid to treat a cut on his finger.

In September, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over the verdict, seeking to impose a ban of between one and two years on the world No 1.

The appeal was set to be heard in April, but WADA revealed last week that it had reached an agreement with Sinner’s representatives for the three-time major winner to serve a suspension from February 9 to May 4.

Sinner was unable to play at this week’s Qatar Open ATP 500 event, and he will also miss Masters 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and Madrid.

The 23-year-old Italian will not, though, miss any Grand Slams, and he will be able to compete at the Italian Open, which begins three days after his ban expires.

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Speaking on an episode of his Advantage Connors podcast, Connors asserted that Sinner’s ban is a blow for tennis and suggested it taints the world No 1’s amazing achievements.

“Well, all I know is tennis is better with Sinner in it. It’s a lot better with him in it,” the former world No 1 began.

“And for him to be away from the game and not playing at a top level and not creating the interest that he does, if he does, you know, with whoever his fans are or whatever, is not good for the game. But, you know, it’s a shame that, you know, that that’s kind of crept into the game right now.

“And it’s taken away from a guy who, over the past 18 months, has had an unbelievable run, a great stretch of wins and exciting tennis and great for his career and even great for the game.

“And to have that tainted a little bit like that, you know, and I’m going to go back and say it, I’m old school. I’m all for doing it all and being as good as you can be on what you are and who you are.

“And if that’s not good enough, then be as good as you can be, whatever that is. But, you know, I don’t think tennis needs that. Tennis needs something to take it to another level up and push it forward for the future generations and the young kids coming in that, you know, that look up to these kids, not to knock it down a peg.”

When discussing Sinner’s case in October, Connors questioned whether the sport could survive a player of the Italian’s status being banned.

“Listen, all I know is that I don’t think tennis at that level could survive that to hit a top player,” the American said.

“They have shown in the past that they are not afraid to hit lower ranked players and discard them from the game. But I don’t know if tennis at that level could take it.”

READ NEXT: When will Jannik Sinner return to training after his ban?

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18-year-old Mirra Andreeva became the youngest-ever woman to reach a WTA 1000 final after beating former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.

The No 12 seed was victorious 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 against the Kazakh, and will face Clara Tauson or Karolina Muchova in the Dubai final.

Andreeva’s win made history, with the superstar now the youngest woman to reach a WTA 1000 final since its inception back in 2009.

Additionally, the Russian is the first woman to beat three Grand Slam champions at the same event since Maria Sharapova did so in 2004 at the WTA Finals. She had already claimed the record for the youngest woman to beat multiple such champions during a WTA 1000 event after her prior match.

Dubai finalist Andreeva defeated former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the second round, before dominating five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals, prior to her win over the 2022 Wimbledon champion in the last four.

Maria Sharapova toppled Svetlana Kuznetsova, Anastasia Myskina, and Serena Williams en route to the 2004 year-end championships in Los Angeles.

“Honestly it’s crazy because, at first, I was not very positive before coming to Dubai,” said Andreeva, after the win over Rybakina,

“I was like, okay, well, I’m just going to play.

“Last time we played it was a really tough match… She went for her shots and killed me in the end. This time I knew she’d hit hard. I tried to fight for every point and kept believing.

“I just tried to accept when things didn’t go my way. I fought for every point and kept believing and, in the end, it went my way.”

The WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai will be Andreeva’s second tour-level final, with the first occurring at the lasi Open last year – where she defeated Elina Avanesyan in the championship match.

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Prior to the match, Rybakina had made it clear that Andreeva would be a tough test: “She has nothing to lose. I think she was playing very well in the tournament. She’s very dangerous.

“She’s physically very good, very quick. I saw today, a couple of games. She was serving really well. If she plays like that, for sure it’s not easy.”

Whilst the Russian is the youngest-ever woman to make a WTA 1000 final, two other teenagers have reached the same stage.

In 2021, Iga Swiatek defeated Karolina Pliskova in the final of the Rome Masters – at the age of 19.

Two years later, Coco Gauff lifted the trophy at the Cincinnati Open when she was victorious against Karolina Muchova – also at the age of 19.

Her win over Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals had already handed the Russian multiple impressive records.

At 17 years and 297 days, Andreeva became the youngest woman to reach the last four of the event and the youngest-ever player to defeat the Pole.

The No 12 seed, after her victory over Swiatek, was also the youngest WTA player to earn five wins against top 10-ranked opponents since Nicole Vaidisova in 2007 at the age of 17 years and 273 days.

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The date from which Jannik Sinner can resume practising, under normal conditions, has been revealed.

Sinner, under the conditions of the ban, can resume ‘official training activity’ under his usual conditions from April 13^th 2025.

However, that does not mean that the world No 1 will not be able to pick up a racket and hit a few shots before that date.

According to the ITIA’s rules: “A player can train with his support staff, as long as he does not do so in a place connected to a national association, the ATP, the ITF, the WTA, the Grand Slams or an event covered by our regulations.”

The ITIA rules were clarified in light of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) stating that, although the 3-month ban mainly concerns the Italian’s ability to compete professionally on the ATP tour, restrictions also must apply to his training.

“Under the terms of the agreement, Mr. Sinner will serve his period of ineligibility from 9 February 2025 to 11:59 pm on 4 May 2025 (which includes a credit for four days previously served by the athlete while he was under a provisional suspension),” stated WADA, in their original statement.

“As per the Code Article 10.14.2, Mr. Sinner may return to official training activity from 13 April 2025.”

The rules mean that Anna Kalinskaya, Sinner’s girlfriend, would be unable to practice together or play a friendly match as she is a professional tennis player – currently ranked world No 19.

The 2025 Australian Open champion could therefore practice on private practice courts, alongside his team.

Currently, Sinner’s coaching team consists of fellow Italian Simone Vagnozzi and renowned coach Darren Cahill – who has worked with the likes of Lleyton Hewitt, Simona Halep, and Andre Agassi.

2025 will be Cahill’s last year as Sinner’s coach.

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“The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirms that it has entered into a case resolution agreement in the case of Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner, with the player accepting a three-month period of ineligibility for an anti-doping rule violation that led to him testing positive for clostebol, a prohibited substance, in March 2024,” said the rest of official WADA statement recognising the resolution.

“WADA accepts that Mr. Sinner did not intend to cheat, and that his exposure to clostebol did not provide any performance-enhancing benefit and took place without his knowledge as the result of negligence of members of his entourage.

“However, under the Code and by virtue of CAS precedent, an athlete bears responsibility for the entourage’s negligence. Based on the unique set of facts of this case, a three-month suspension is deemed to be an appropriate outcome.

“In light of the case resolution agreement, WADA has formally withdrawn its appeal to CAS.”

That appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) was scheduled to be heard in mid-April, with, if ruled in favour of, a one or two-year ban from professional competition likely.

World No 1 Sinner stated, shortly after WADA released their initial statement concerning the settlement: “This case had been hanging over me for nearly a year and the process still had a long time to run with a decision maybe only at the end of the year.

“I have always accepted that I am responsible for my team and realise Wada’s strict rules are an important protection for the sport I love.

“On that basis I have accepted WADA’s offer to resolve these proceedings on the basis of a three-month sanction.”

Jannik Sinner is next scheduled to play the Rome Masters, which takes May 7 – May 18.

The post When will Jannik Sinner return to training after his ban? appeared first on Tennis365.

Novak Djokovic has sparked worry among tennis fans after being spotted limping at the airport in Doha – just days after his loss to Matteo Berrettini at the Qatar Open.

The Serb, in a video captured by Diario AS, appeared significantly impacted by a limp as he entered an airport in Doha.

It comes on the back of a hamstring muscle tear that caused him to retire mid-match from his semi-final encounter at the 2025 Australian Open against Alexander Zverev.

Djokovic lost back-to-back matches for the first time since early 2022, after being knocked out by Matteo Berrettini in his opening match at the 2025 Qatar Open – with the Italian winning 7-6(4), 6-2.

“I didn’t have any pain or discomfort in that sense. I was outplayed by just a better player today,” said the 24-time Grand Slam champion during his post-match press conference.

“Yes, I wasn’t at my desired level, and it could be that I’m still not moving the way I want to move, but, I mean, I played without pain, so there is no excuse in that.

“He was just the better player. I think he played a masterclass match, to be honest, tactically, and served very well, so just a very deserved win from his side.”

Djokovic also partnered up with Fernando Verdasco in the men’s doubles category at the Qatar Open, which marked the Spaniard’s last event of his professional career.

The pair were victorious during their first test – dominating Karen Khachanov and Alexander Bublik – before falling to Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara 7-5, 6-4 in their next match. The tennis superstar seemed unaffected by discomfort or pain during his doubles contests.

Novak Djokovic is next scheduled to participate at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, March 5 – March 16.

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¡Djokovic abandona Doha cojeando!
AS @diarioas cazó al tenista serbio con una ligera cojera a su llegada al Aeropuerto de Doha pese a que dijo que no sintió dolor en su partido de individual y en el dobles con Verdasco
@JaimeDavila_ en Doha pic.twitter.com/WWihGjq89w

— As Más Deporte (@As_MasDeporte) February 21, 2025

The concerning video also arrived amid a sequence of honest comments from Djokovic on the increasing frequency of injuries, as he continues to age.

“I don’t know. There is a chance. Who knows? I’ll just have to see how the season goes,” the world No 7 stated after his Australian Open retirement, on whether he will end his career in 2025.

“I want to keep going, but whether I’m going to have a revised schedule or not for the next year, I’m not sure. I normally like to come to Australia and play and I’ve had the biggest success in my career here.

“So if I’m fit, healthy, motivated, I don’t see a reason why I wouldn’t come. But there’s always a chance [it is the last time], yeah.”

Djokovic added: “Injury is the biggest enemy of a professional athlete. In the past I managed certain injuries, like the one you mentioned a few years ago that to some extent even helped me even play better and win the tournament (the 2023 Australian Open).”

At Roland Garros in 2024, the Serb tore the medial meniscus in his right knee during his match against Francisco Cerundolo – before undergoing surgery. Unable to play his quarter-final clash against Casper Ruud, the three-time former champion withdrew from the tournament.

The post Fresh fears over Novak Djokovic’s injury after worrying video emerges appeared first on Tennis365.

Emma Raducanu has been praised for the way she handled the shocking incident involving a fan who “exhibited fixated behaviour” during the Dubai Tennis Championships.

The full details of the events were only made public on Wednesday, a day after Raducanu’s second-round exit to Karolina Muchova at the WTA 1000 event in the United Arab Emirates.

The match was marred by an unusual incident in the third game when a visibly upset Raducanu went over to the chair umpire and after a brief discussion, the world No 61 hid behind the officials’ chair.

Muchova went over to console a crying Raducanu and security was informed after which a man was ejected from the stadium.

The following morning the WTA released a statement saying that Raducanu was first “approached in a public area by a man who exhibited fixated behaviour” and “this same individual was identified in the first few rows during Emma’s match on Tuesday”.

The man – revealed to be a tourist in Dubai – has since been handed a restraining order, in return for having charges against him being dropped.

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A Dubai Police statement added: “While Raducanu later chose to drop the charges, the individual signed a formal undertaking to maintain distance from her and has been banned from future tournaments. Dubai remains committed to ensuring the safety and security of all residents and visitors to the emirate.”

It is not the first time that Raducanu has had to deal with a stalker as back in 2022 a man was handed a five-year restraining order after visiting her Bromley several times, leaving gifts and cards while also stealing property.

Former British No 1 Sam Smith gave her views on Raducanu’s reaction to the incident and her ability to regain her composure.

“I was horrified. Credit to Emma. You would never know what she had been through with the way she was playing and competing. I don’t know how she did that,” she told Sky Sports News.

“Emma had the presence of mind to stop, talk to the umpire. It looked as if the tournament reacted very quickly, so did the WTA and the person was removed very quickly.

“They did everything they could possibly do to make sure Emma was as protected as possible, certainly in a physical sense, but psychologically it was difficult for her to continue and play the match.

“I’ve never experienced it myself but even for a minor incident in the crowd, for example if someone is unwell or there’s a disturbance, it can be hard.

“Tennis players are trained to switch on and off but I don’t think anyone is built psychologically to cope with what Emma had to cope with in Dubai, and having to get over that in future matches.

“The WTA and ATP Tours will double down on looking at their protocols, which worked pretty well, but they absolutely prioritise player safety and wellbeing. They will look at whether they can take it to another level and I think they might have to.”

Raducanu – who is next due to be in action at the Indian Wells Open at the beginning of March – issued a brief response on Wednesday, saying: “Difficult experience yesterday but I’ll be okay and proud of how I came back and competed despite what happened at the start of the match.

“Thank you to Karolina [Muchova] for being a great sport and best of luck to her for the rest of the tournament.”

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Aryna Sabalenka won only one match during the Middle East swing yet she has managed to increase her points advantage over Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff by a substantial amount.

World No 1 Sabalenka started the month of February on 8,956 points with Swiatek only 186 points adrift in second place with Gauff another 2,232 points behind in third place.

The top four in the WTA Rankings all opted to skip the first Middle East event, the Abu Dhabi Open, with only defending champion Elena Rybakina in action.

The world No 5 was beaten by eventual champion Belinda Bencic in the semi-final and it meant she dropped a couple of spots.

Next up was the WTA 1000 double-header and Swiatek was always going to be up against it as she was defending 1,000 points at the Qatar Open after winning the event last year while she also reached the semi-final at the Dubai Tennis Championships in 2024 and dropped 390 points.

Sabalenka only had 10 points to defend across the two events, Gauff was dropping 215 points over the two tournaments, Paolini 1,010, Jessica Pegula zero, Madison Keys zero and Rybakina 865.

Top 10 Before WTA 1000 Double-Header

1. Aryna Sabalenka – 8,956 points
2. Iga Swiatek Poland – 8,770
3. Coco Gauff United States – 6,538
4. Jasmine Paolini Italy – 5,288
5. Jessica Pegula United States – 4,861
6. Madison Keys United States – 4,680
7. Elena Rybakina Kazakhstan – 4,588
8. Zheng Qinwen China – 4,095
9. Emma Navarro United States – 3,709
10. Paula Badosa Spain – 3,588

Sabalenka had a shocker of a Middle East swing as she won only one match in the two events combined – she had byes in the openers in Qatar and Dubai before losing in the second round in Doha and the third round in the UAE – picking up 130 points in total.

In terms of results, Swiatek had a decent run as she made it to the semi-finals in Qatar and the quarter-final in Dubai, but it means she “lost” 785 points during the two events while picking up only 605.

Gauff meanwhile earned only 118 points after back-to-back second-round defeats, Paolini earned 240 points, Pegula 335, Keys zero as she missed both tournaments, Rybakina a minimum of 605 as she has reached the semi-final in Dubai, Zheng Qinwen 20, Emma Navarro 180 and Paula Badosa 185.

Projected WTA Top 10 After Middle East Swing

1. Aryna Sabalenka – 9,076 points
2. Iga Swiatek Poland – 7,985
3. Coco Gauff United States – 6,333
4. Jessica Pegula United States – 5,196
5. Madison Keys United States – 4,680
6. Jasmine Paolini Italy – 4,518
7. Elena Rybakina Kazakhstan – 4,328/4,588/4,938
8. Zheng Qinwen China – 3,780
9. Emma Navarro United States – 3,704
10. Paula Badosa Spain – 3,698

It all means Sabalenka has increased her lead to over Swiatek to more than 1,000 points despite her poor form at the two tournaments while Gauff missed a chance to get closer to the five-time Grand Slam winner in third place.

Jessica Pegula made up some ground on Gauff while Madison Keys has broken into the top five for the first time although she could still be denied by Rybakina. If the Kazakh star wins the Dubai Tennis Championships then sh ewill return to No 5.

The rest of the top 10 is unchanged for now.

The Other Winners

Mirra Andreeva started the February swing in 15th place and she is currently at No 12 in the Live Rankings after her stunning quarter-final win over Swiatek. If she wins the title, she will surge into the top 10 for the first time and peak at No 9.

Amanda Anisimova was lingering at No 40 before the back-to-back WTA 1000 events, but she won the Qatar Open and earned 1,000 points before losing in the opening round in Dubai. She sits at a career-high No 17.

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Jelena Ostapenko finished runner-up in Qatar and she is set for a nine-place jump after the swing.

Clara Tauson was at No 34, but is now assured of breaking into the top 30 after reaching her maiden WTA 1000 semi-final. The Dane currently sits at No 27 and could rise as high as No 17 if she wins the Dubai event.

Sofia Kenin was at No 75, but she is up to No 47 after reaching the quarters in Dubai.

Belinda Bencic has been one of the fairytale stories the past month as she was at No 157 at the start of February as she was still making her way back after maternity leave. She won the Abu Dhabi title, missed the Qatar Open and then reached the second round in Dubai to surge up to No 58.

Alicia Parks started the month at No 90, but is set to rise to No 61.

The Losers

Anna Kalinskayan was at No 18 at the start of February, but she will drop to No 34 after suffering first-round exits in Qatar and Dubai.

Reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova is set to slip to No 46 from No 37 while Naomi Osaka was at No 42 before the three events, but currently sits at No 57 after missing all three tournaments.

Former world No 1 Karolina Pliskova and Romanian Sorana Cirstea reached the semi-final in Qatar and Dubai respectively last year, but they failed to replicate that success in 2025.

Pliskova was at No 57 on 3 February, but is projected to slump to No 165 while Cirstea will drop from No 64 to No 120.

The post WTA Rankings Winners & Losers Middle East: Sabalenka +1,000-point lead with 1 win, Keys +2 with 0 matches appeared first on Tennis365.

Karolina Muchova has called the incident, in which a man displayed ‘fixated behaviour’ towards Emma Raducanu during the Czech’s match against the Brit, a ‘strange experience.’

Muchova defeated McCartney Kessler 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(5) in the round of 16 at the WTA 1000 event in Dubai, but it was the incident during her opening match against Raducanu that has caught headlines.

At 2-0 during their match, the 2021 US Open champion appeared in distress, displaying tears as she talked to the umpire. It was later revealed that a man in the crowd had exhibited ‘fixated behaviour’ towards Raducanu, having already approached the Brit the day before.

“Yeah, it was strange situation,” said Muchova.

“I honestly went for my serving. I didn’t even know something was happening. Then I saw she’s not on the other side. So I went to check with the referee what is happening. She told me what is happening.

“Yeah, obviously you don’t want to see these things to be happening to anyone, to any woman, any girl. So I was just trying to be there, maybe calm her down a little bit.

“I’m happy they solved it pretty fast. I think she was fine after a while. Then we just kept going with the match.”

The Dubai quarterfinalist commented that she had not personally experienced anything similar to the incident: “I’m lucky around me it’s nice fans usually. Yeah, I wasn’t in the situation. Again, I felt sorry for her and for anyone who has to go through this.

“Obviously there are people texting us after matches all the time. Sometimes not the nicest messages. But never it happened to me that someone would like actually approach me live. Yeah, I guess I’m lucky it didn’t happen to me.”

Despite the horrific incident, the Brit battled on – eventually losing 7-6(6), 6-4 to her opponent.

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A few days later, Raducanu took to her Instagram to release her first statement: “Thank you for the messages of support. Difficult experience yesterday (Tuesday) but I’ll be okay and proud of how I came back and competed despite what happened at the start of the match,” the Brit wrote.

“Thank you to Karolina for being a great sport and best of luck to her for the rest of the tournament.”

“On Monday, February 17, Emma Raducanu was approached in a public area by a man who exhibited fixated behaviour,” the official WTA statement said.

“This same individual was identified in the first few rows during Emma’s match on Tuesday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and subsequently ejected. He will be banned from all WTA events pending a threat assessment.”

Karolina Muchova will next face Sorana Cirstea in the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 in Dubai.

The Czech leads their head-to-head 4-1, winning the last two meetings, and being victorious during their 2023 match at the same event.

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