Women's Tennis Blog

Category: Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships

Sania Mirza to retire from tennis at the Dubai tournament in February

Indian trailblazer Sania Mirza has announced that she will retire from tennis at the 2023 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in February.

The former doubles world number one had initially planned to hang up her racquet at the end of the 2022 season, but an elbow injury forced her to end the season way prematurely, so she decided to recover and get back on tour to finish her career on her own terms, on the court.

“I was going to stop right after the WTA Finals, because we were going to make the WTA Finals, but I tore my tendon in my elbow right before US Open so I had to pull out of everything,” Mirza told the WTA last month in Dubai, the city she has been living in for over a decade.

“And honestly, the person that I am, I like to do things on my own terms. So I don’t want to be forced out by injury. So I’ve been training.”

The main reason for Mirza’s retirement is that her body can’t take it any longer after 20 years competing on the WTA Tour and she’s emotionally drained from pushing her body to the limit.

The 36-year-old Mirza has won six Grand Slam titles — three in women’s doubles and three in mixed doubles. She was also a successful singles player, but her main achievements came in doubles and the most notable was her 41-match winning streak alongside Martina Hingis.

The Indian will play the upcoming Australian Open alongside Kazakhstan’s Anna Danilina.

January 7, 2023
Jelena Ostapenko crowned Dubai champion

Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko capped a perfect week at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships with a 6-0 6-4 victory over Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova in Saturday’s final.

After beating as many as four Grand Slam champions in a row (Sofia Kenin, Iga Swiatek, Petra Kvitova, Simona Halep), the 2017 Roland Garros winner Ostapenko spent just 65 minutes to overcome the last obstacle en route to her fifth career title.

The 24-year-old Ostapenko raced through the first set of the final. The world No.31 Kudermetova stopped her momentum by taking two straight games at the start of the second set. The Latvian managed to level to 2-2 and then earn another break to go up 5-3. Even though she was broken when serving for victory, Ostapenko finished the job in the following game.

Currently ranked No.21, Ostapenko is projected to return to the Top 20 for the first time since October 2018. Her position in the updated WTA rankings will be No.13.

Later on Saturday, Ostapenko and Kudermetova will also meet each other in the doubles final. (photo: Jimmie48)

February 19, 2022
Jelena Ostapenko beats fourth Grand Slam champion in a row to reach Dubai final

Jelena Ostapenko bageled Simona Halep in the second-set tiebreak and in the decider to record her fourth straight victory over a major champion and advance to the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

The world No.21 Ostapenko recovered from a one set deficit for the third straight match and overcame two-time Grand Slam winner Halep 2-6 7-6(0) 6-0 in Friday’s semifinals. Impressively, all the Latvian’s opponents en route to the Dubai title match were major champions, as she eliminated Sofia Kenin, Iga Swiatek and Petra Kvitova earlier this week.

Playing her second straight semifinal, having also made this stage last week at St. Petersburg, Ostapenko never earned a break point in the first set as Halep wrapped it up in 27 minutes.

In the second set, Halep neutralized an initial 3-0 deficit as Ostapenko’s errors returned, evening the score at 4-4. Despite wasting a pair of set points with netted groundstrokes, Ostapenko dominated the tiebreak and the rest of the match.

By making the final, Ostapenko will rise to No.15 WTA ranking, while the title would bring her to No.13.

In the championship match, Ostapenko’s opponent will be Russian Veronika Kudermetova, who received a walkover when 2019 French Open runner-up Marketa Vondrousova withdrew due to a right adductor injury.

Ostapenko and Kudermetova will also face each other in the doubles final! Ostapenko is partnered with Lyudmyla Kichenok, while Kudermetova is teamed up with Elise Mertens. The last woman to reach both finals in Dubai was Svetlana Kuznetsova in 2004.

February 18, 2022
Ostapenko beats three Grand Slam champions to advance to Dubai semifinals

Jelena Ostapenko saved a match point to battle past Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and record her third straight victory over a Grand Slam champion.

After eliminating 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin and 2020 French Open titlist Iga Swiatek, world No.21 Jelena Ostapenko prevailed in a third-set tiebreak to beat two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 5-7 7-5 7-6(9) and make the semifinals of the WTA 500 tournament in Dubai.

The 2017 Roland Garros winner Ostapenko recovered from a set and a break down in the battle that lasted two hours and 39 minutes. The world No.25 Kvitova twice served for the match and had a 4-2 lead in the third-set tiebreak, before the Latvian prevailed and reached back-to-back semifinals for the first time since 2019.

The 24-year-old Ostapenko is projected to return to the Top 20 WTA rankings. For a place in the final, the unseeded player will face 2020 Dubai champion Simona Halep, who defeated eighth seed Ons Jabeur 6-4 6-3 in the Thursday’s quarterfinals.

February 17, 2022
Defending champion Muguruza and top seed Sabalenka upset in Dubai

Defending champion Garbine Muguruza and top seed Aryna Sabalenka are both out in the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Veronika Kudermetova of Russia & Garbine Muguruza of Spain after the second round of the 2022 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships WTA 1000 tennis tournament

Fourth seed Garbine Muguruza closed the first set with a love hold and an ace. Both the second and third set went with serve until the final game when Kudermetova earned a break.

The ending was bitter for Muguruza. Serving to level the third set to 5-5, the Spaniard served three double-faults in a row, handing the Russian the break and hence the match, 3-6 6-4 6-4.

This is Kudermetova’s seventh Top 10 victory and second straight win over a former world No.1, as the Russian eliminated Victoria Azarenka in the first round of Dubai.

In the quarterfinals, Kudermetova’s opponent will be Swiss lucky loser Jil Teichmann, who stunned two-time Dubai champion Elina Svitolina earlier on Wednesday.

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in action during the second round of the 2022 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships WTA 1000 tennis tournament

The string of upsets continued as Petra Kvitova defeated top seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-4 6-4 to set up a quarterfinal meeting with Jelena Ostapenko, who eliminated fellow French Open champion Iga Swiatek earlier in the day.

Kvitova’s ace game was way superior to Sabalenka’s, seven to zero, but they both committed six double faults. Kvitova rallied from a break down in the second set, from that point on cruising to win in one hour and 25 minutes.

The world No.25 Kvitova now owns eleven victories over players ranked in the Top 2. For the first time since last fall has the Czech picked up back-to-back wins.

February 16, 2022
Jil Teichmann eliminates two-time champion Elina Svitolina in Dubai

Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann upset two-time champion Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 7-6(0) 6-2 in the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Wednesday.

Jil Teichmann of Switzerland in action during the second round of the 2022 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships WTA 500 tennis tournament

The world No.35 Teichmann is making her second appearance in Dubai after a semifinal debut in 2021, which propelled her into the Top 50 WTA rankings. After losing in the final round of qualifying to Katerina Siniakova in this year’s Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Teichmann entered the main draw as a lucky loser and then ousted Elise Mertens in the opening match. The upset of Svitolina is her eighth victory over a Top 20 player.

The pillar of Teichmann’s win over Svitolina was her percentage of points won on first serve. She conceded a total of just two points on her first serve in the first set and five in the second set, as she also saved all the five break points she faced.

The 15th-ranked Svitolina won back-to-back titles in Dubai in 2017 and 2018, and also reached the semifinals in 2016 and 2019.

February 16, 2022
Muguruza kicks off Dubai title defense with win over Siniakova

Garbine Muguruza opened her Dubai title defense with a tricky 7-6(5) 2-6 6-2 victory over qualifier Katerina Siniakova in the first round.

In last year’s Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships final, Muguruza outlasted Barbora Krejcikova, Siniakova’s doubles partner and compatriot. With today’s victory, the seventh-ranked Muguruza leveled her head-to-head record with the doubles world No.1 Siniakova at 2-2.

Czech Siniakova, ranked No.45 in singles, held a set point at 5-3 in the first set, but a double fault handed Muguruza an opportunity to stay alive and the Spaniard managed to level by converting her seventh break point in a thrilling game as her opponent double-faulted again.

After Murugurza won the closely-contested first-set tiebreak, Siniakova re-established her position and confidently won the second set without dropping serve.

While Muguruza’s rate of break points saved was 0% in the first two sets, it dramatically improved to 100% in the decider and the defending champion won the last four games of the match to overcome her first hurdle at the 2022 WTA 500 edition of this high-profile tournament in the Middle East.

In the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Muguruza will face Veronika Kudermetova, as the Russian defeated Victoria Azarenka 6-3 6-4 earlier on Tuesday.

February 15, 2022
WTA players getting ready for Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships

Eight of the Top 10 players will kick off main-draw action at the WTA 500 tournament in Dubai next week. Jimmie48 is already in the United Arab Emirates, taking behind-the-scenes and on-court photos of players getting ready for this important event on the tennis calendar.

Defending champion Garbine Muguruza has a big challenge ahead, as the 2022 Australian Open runner-up Danielle Collins awaits in the first round.

On Friday, Muguruza practiced with Iga Swiatek, who is seeded sixth this year.

Swiatek’s first opponent will be 2018 Dubai finalist Daria Kasatkina.

Top seed is Aryna Sabalenka. The Belarusian’s first-round opponent will be a qualifier.

2013 Dubai champion Petra Kvitova will take on Camila Giorgi in the opening round.

Ons Jabeur, the first Arab woman to clinch a WTA singles title, was caught practicing on Saturday. Her first obstacle will be former world No.2 Vera Zvonareva.

Simona Halep and Elina Svitolina both won the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title twice. During Saturday’s draw ceremony, they posed with the familiar trophy.

The first round will also feature a clash of two Grand Slam champions, as 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin will play 2017 Roland Garros titlist Jelena Ostapenko.

Coco Gauff was interviewed by CNN ahead of her Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships campaign.

In her tournament debut last year, the American teenager reached her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal (Middle Eastern tournaments Dubai and Doha alternate between WTA 1000 and WTA 500 status each year).

Gauff’s first obstacle will be compatriot Jessica Pegula.

Main-draw play at the 22nd edition of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships begins on Monday with a loaded field full of big WTA names. Out of the Top 10 players, only No.1 Ashleigh Barty and No.4 Karolina Pliskova are absent. The singles final will be on Saturday.

February 12, 2022
Muguruza overcomes Krejcikova to win Dubai title

Garbine Muguruza

Ninth seed Garbine Muguruza edged Barbora Krejcikova 7-6(6) 6-3 in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships to win her first WTA singles title since 2019 and eighth overall.

Garbine Muguruza

Having not dropped a set en route to her biggest career singles final, the world No.63 Krejcikova saved three set points in the opening set against Muguruza to force a tiebreak. The two-time Grand Slam champion Muguruza then also faced a set point, but saved it to prevail in the tight set.

The second set was more straightforward as Muguruza broke Krejcikova early on, held on to that lead and ended the match with another solid game on her opponent’s serve.

Barbora Krejcikova

The 16th-ranked Muguruza opened her week in Dubai with a straight-set win over Irina-Camelia Begu, then defeated Amanda Anisimova in the second round, reigning Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek in the third, Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals, Elise Mertens in the semifinals, and finally Krejcikova, the lowest-ranked player to advance to the Dubai final.

Garbine Muguruza

The 27-year-old Muguruza was contesting her third final of 2021, the previous two being at the Yarra Valley Classic and Qatar Total Open. This latest triumph increases Muguruza’s Tour-leading number of wins in 2021 to 18.

During the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Muguruza was wearing the Adidas Primeblue Dress, from the brand’s collection released in time for the Australian Open.

March 13, 2021
Muguruza converts 7th match point to beat Mertens in Dubai semifinals

Contesting her third semifinal at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Garbine Muguruza battled past Elise Mertens 6-4 7-6(5) to reach the title match of this tournament for the first time.

Garbine Muguruza

Mertens’ week in Dubai will be remembered for match points. After saving three to beat Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals, the Belgian saved six more before falling to Muguruza in straight sets.

The ninth-seeded Muguruza established a 4-1 lead early on and served for the set at 5-3. Mertens saved one set point and broke Muguruza’s serve to stay alive in the set, but the tenth seed was broken immediately afterwards as the Spaniard finished the job on her second set point.

Elise Mertens

In the second set, Muguruza took charge by breaking Mertens at love for a 5-3 lead. Mertens then responded by winning three games in a row, saving four match points on the way. Serving at 6-5 to force the third set, Mertens dropped serve and Muguruza got another chance to get the victory that threatened to slip through her hands. After wasting two more match points in the tiebreak, Muguruza finally converted her seventh match point and advanced to her third final this season.

The two-time major champion Muguruza has posted a Tour-leading 17 wins in 2021 (17-4 record overall).

Barbora Krejcikova

In the second semifinal on Friday, former doubles world No.1 Barbora Krejcikova defeated fellow unseeded player Jil Teichmann 7-5 6-2. The world No.63 Krejcikova is yet to drop a set this week. The Czech’s first WTA 1000 final is a continuation of her impressive singles rise that stared last summer, as the 25-year-old took the COVID-19 break to work on the things that she didn’t have enough time to work on before.

March 12, 2021