The official draw for the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships was held today at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium. It was attended by WTA officials, tournament organizers, Dubai Duty Free management, officials, and selected players competing in this year’s Championships. It confirmed the matchups and tournament pathways for the WTA 1000 event, which runs from February 15 to 24 in Dubai.
The 26th edition of the Championships features one of the strongest fields in the tournament’s history. Sixteen of the world’s top 20 players are in action, alongside six Grand Slam singles champions who collectively hold nine major titles. Matches will be played at the renovated Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium.
How the draw opened up
As the draw unfolded, attention quickly turned to the placement of the top seeds and the challenges they could face early in the week.
While the top eight seeds all received first-round byes, top seed and World No. 3 Elena Rybakina—triumphant in Melbourne just a few weeks ago—is on course for a second-round meeting with German Tatjana Maria. On the other half of the draw, No. 2 seed Amanda Anisimova could face two-time Grand Slam winner Barbora Krejcikova—a winner here in 2023—in the Round of 32, should the latter safely negotiate her first-round tie with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Rybakina’s half of the draw also features the likes of 2023 US Open champion Coco Gauff (No. 3 seed), world No. 9 Elina Svitolina (No. 7 seed), 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko (No. 10 seed), British No. 1 Emma Raducanu and rising star Alex Eala of the Philippines—who will face “lucky loser” Hailey Baptiste of the USA to progress to a second-round tie with 2024 Dubai winner Jasmine Paolini.
The depth of this section of the draw highlights the competitiveness of the tournament, where even seeded players face demanding matchups from the early rounds.
Filipino representation on Centre Court
One of the notable storylines to emerge from the draw involves Alexandra Eala (or Alex Eala to her fans), who attended the draw. She is set to open her campaign on Centre Court tomorrow evening. Playing in Dubai carries added significance for Eala due to the strong Filipino community in the UAE, and her appearance is expected to draw considerable local support.
Filipino representation continues earlier on Centre Court when Leylah Fernandez, the Canadian of Filipino descent, faces 13th seed Liudmila Samsonova. Both matches reflect the growing presence of Filipino athletes on the international tennis stage and their connection with fans in the region.
The atmosphere changes a lot when there are so many excited people. It means a lot for me, because it makes me feel like I’m home when I’m traveling for so many weeks of the year. And I think that feeling is reciprocated for a lot of the overseas Filipino workers. I know there’s a huge population of them here in the Middle East, so it means a lot for people to see themselves in other people. That’s what makes it special here.
The opposite half of the draw
On the other side of the bracket, defending Dubai champion Mirra Andreeva begins her title defense after making history last year as the youngest winner of a WTA 1000 event. She is joined in that half by world No. 6 Jessica Pegula, setting up several potential high-profile encounters as the tournament progresses.
Greek star Maria Sakkari enters the tournament following a semifinal appearance in Doha and will open against American teenager Iva Jovic. The match marks Jovic’s first appearance in the Middle East, and she has already spoken positively about her early impressions of Dubai, including a visit to the Burj Khalifa.
Draw ceremony and tournament updates
The Official Draw was led by WTA Supervisor Clare Wood, with Dubai Duty Free leadership in attendance, including Ramesh Cidambi and Salah Tahlak, along with WTA referee Carlos Ramos.
Tournament organizers also confirmed ongoing venue enhancements, including the introduction of a new Court One with a 2,000-seat capacity and an expanded Tennis Village. Plans are in place to further increase Centre Court seating capacity to 7,500 following the conclusion of this year’s event.
Four wildcards were announced during the draw, awarded to Zeynep Sonmez, Sara Bejlek, Lulu Sun, and Janice Tjen. In a quirk of the draw, Sonmez and Bejlek will face each other in the opening round, with their match scheduled on Centre Court immediately after Eala’s match.
Looking ahead to the tournament week
With 33 of the world’s top 40 players competing and the event held under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the 2026 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships continues to strengthen its position on the global tennis calendar.
Tickets for the 2026 Championships are available now, with prices starting from AED65. The tournament will be followed by Dubai’s ATP 500 men’s event, scheduled to run from February 23 to 28.
