Stellar line-up to mark 25th edition of WTA Dubai event

World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, five-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek, and reigning Dubai champion Jasmine Paolini lead a star-studded line-up featuring the world’s top 10 WTA players ahead of the milestone 25th anniversary Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships’ women’s tournament.

Paolini’s incredible year has seen her tie the record for the highest-ranked Italian woman in WTA rankings history, with the World No.4 winning her second career title in Dubai, finishing runner-up at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, and then triumphing with Italy in doubles at both the Paris Olympics and in Malaga.

Paolini and Sara Errani won Italy’s first Olympic tennis gold at Paris 2024, triumphed in two WTA 1000 events and helped Italy to their fifth Billie Jean King Cup triumph.

Swiatek will be eager to start the season fresh, with new coach Wim Fissette at the helm. Her serve, she said, will be a major emphasis. So will recapturing that No.1 ranking.

Sabalenka, meanwhile, was recently voted WTA Player of the Year for the first time after winning four titles in 2024, including a second Australian Open and maiden US Open triumph. That impressive run has seen her reclaim the top ranking from Swiatek, who was beaten in straight sets by World No.3 Coco Gauff in Saudi Arabia’s season-ending tournament.

The Belarusian finished the season unbeaten in hard court majors, having pulled out of Wimbledon with a shoulder injury before being beaten by Mirra Andreeva at the French Open.

In all, she has won 18 out of 19 grand slam matches since January, for a winning percentage of 94.7%. This is the highest grand slam score over a calendar year since Serena Williams in 2015 among players who have played at least 10 matches.

Nine years ago, the American had a 96.2% winning percentage, coming very close to achieving the calendar grand slam.

Sabalenka also secured victories at the Cincinnati Open in August and the Wuhan Open in October, becoming the first woman to win the Chinese event three times.

The 20-year-old Gauff became the youngest player since Maria Sharapova in 2004 to win the season-ending championships.

Ramesh Cidambi, Managing Director of Dubai Duty Free and Chairman of the tournament’s Organising Committee, expressed his excitement at welcoming the world’s top WTA players to Dubai once more.

“This year marks an important landmark as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the WTA Championships in Dubai,” Cidambi said.

“The tournament’s elevation to permanent WTA 1000 status last year underlines the calibre of talent this competition consistently attracts and with the world’s top 10 players now confirmed to participate, Dubai continues to solidify its status as a premier destination on the global tennis stage.”

Another former Dubai champion, Barbora Krejcikova, will feature at the WTA 1000 tournament, as well as World No 5 Qinwen Zheng – who made history by winning China’s first tennis singles gold medal at the Paris Olympics earlier this year.

Daria Kasatkina, a finalist in Dubai in 2018, and Jessica Pegula, a semi-finalist here in 2023, will also compete at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium.

Kasatkina won two titles, in Ningbo and Eastbourne, but she also reached four other finals — in Seoul, Adelaide, Abu Dhabi and Charleston. Those were achieved on three different surfaces, underlining Kasatkina’s diverse skill set.

Tournament Director and Deputy Managing Director of Dubai Duty Free, Salah Tahlak added: “We are delighted to have so many of the world’s top women’s players competing in Dubai as we celebrate an incredible milestone in this tournament’s history. Our WTA event continues to grow every year and 2025 promises to be special.”

Meanwhile, a strong men’s line up is primed for the 33rd edition of the ATP Tour tournament. The emirate’s long-standing tennis championships will again run as back-to-back competitions, with the WTA week getting under way on February 16, immediately followed by the ATP event on February 24.

The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free and held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.