World No. 5 Jessica Pegula found the perfect way to celebrate an early birthday on Saturday night in Dubai. The American produced a composed and commanding performance to defeat Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, lifting the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships trophy and becoming the first American woman in more than a decade to do so.
A calm and controlled final under the lights
Inside the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium, Pegula never looked rushed. Turning 32 on Tuesday, she needed just 73 minutes to secure a straight-sets victory, 6-2, 6-4, and claim her 10th career WTA title. In doing so, she became the first American champion at the tournament since Venus Williams won her third Dubai crown in 2014.
“Yeah, it’s a great birthday present for me,” Pegula said.
“I get to celebrate by flying back home in a few hours, but I’m just super happy to go home with a trophy. It was a great week.”
Svitolina reflects after a demanding week
Across the net stood a player who had already pushed herself to the limit. Svitolina, a two-time Dubai champion in 2017 and 2018, arrived in the final less than 24 hours after an epic three-hour, three-set semi-final win over Coco Gauff.
The physical toll was visible, but the world No. 9 was quick to focus on the positives.
“I had a great match yesterday,” said the world No. 9. “I was very happy with the way I could win that match, so I want to look on this tournament with lots of positives, take only good things. For me, that’s the priority. I played great matches, beat good players. Of course, in a final, it was tough, but Jess is so consistent—she’s a great player and really played great tennis. It is how it is. I’m still happy.
Pegula’s precision sets the tone early
From the opening games, Pegula played with clarity and intent. Known affectionately by fans as “Jpeg,” she struck the ball cleanly from the baseline and moved forward with confidence. She broke serve three times in succession to race into a 4-1 lead in the opening set.
Svitolina, who had fought for every point against Gauff the night before, struggled to find the same reserves of energy. Small margins made a big difference against an opponent as steady as Pegula.
“It’s not easy,” Svitolina said. “I mean, I did a few more mistakes than usual. Sometimes my footwork was not perfect. Little things like here and there I was short, and against top players, you cannot make these kinds of mistakes constantly. Against a player like Jess, who is very consistent, you have to always put a lot of pressure; you have to always find the small opportunities. Unfortunately, I was a little bit low mentally, and my body was tired.”
Consistency rewarded on the Dubai court
Pegula’s form in recent months has been impossible to ignore. She arrived in Dubai having reached six consecutive semi-finals, but with only two finals converted into titles. This time felt different.
After closing out the first set comfortably, she showed patience in the second. She moved Svitolina around the court, mixed sliced backhands with deep groundstrokes, and waited for the right moment to strike.
The decisive break came in the fifth game of the second set, as Pegula attacked the net and worked the angles with precision.
“I think I probably felt a little bit better than [Elina] did,” Pegula said. “Her match last night with Coco was insane—a super high level. I was watching: Two of the best, if not the best, competitors we have on Tour. They put on a show, and maybe it benefited me a little bit that I got to be done a little bit earlier.”
A milestone win beyond North America
When the final point was won, Pegula lifted her arms in quiet satisfaction. Fireworks lit up the night sky, and the crowd roared, but her reaction spoke of bigger ambitions still ahead.
“Today is [my] first [title] outside North America, which is kind of cool,” she said. “I lost the Madrid final, so that kind of makes it a little bit special—somewhere that’s not in North America. It proves I can play overseas, which is nice. I’ve had some good results here in the past, and I’ve always thought I could play well here, so just finally getting over that hurdle is special.”
Doubles final delivers dominance and emotion
Earlier on the same court, the doubles final provided a very different kind of spectacle. Fifth seeds Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and Luisa Stefani of Brazil overwhelmed Germany’s Laura Siegemund and Russia’s Vera Zvonareva.
After dropping the opening game, Dabrowski and Stefani stormed through six straight games to take the first set 6-1. Their chemistry was evident, blending Dabrowski’s power and intensity with Stefani’s touch and finesse at the net.
The momentum carried into the second set, and after just 70 minutes, the title was sealed with a 6-1, 6-3 victory.
“I’d actually like to just take a second and dedicate this win to my best friend’s father,” said Dabrowski. “His name is Mike Smith, and he has been battling cancer for 12 years now, and he is still fighting and I’ve been thinking of him every single day this week and weeks previous. He’s been an inspiration for me, so this was for him tonight.”
Another standout edition of a Dubai classic
The 26th edition of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships ran from February 15 to 21 and featured 16 of the world’s top 20 players, along with 35 of the top 40.
The tournament is owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free and is held under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Attention now turns to the emirate’s ATP 500 men’s tournament, which begins on Monday February 23 and runs until Saturday February 28.
