WTA Rankings Winners & Losers Middle East: Sabalenka +1,000-point lead with 1 win, Keys +2 with 0 matches

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.

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