It has barely been over a month since the tennis season began, but the action on the WTA side is getting hotter. With the first Grand Slam of the year done and dusted, the players are getting ready for the next big event. The Qatar Open is set to begin, and the defending champion, Iga Swiatek, has her work cut out for her.
The tournament in Doha is the first WTA 1000 event of the year. This year marks the 22nd edition of the Qatar TotalEnergies Open, as the players return to the desert. It is one of the many tournaments the players will be competing in throughout February.
The creme de la creme of the tennis world will be playing at the event. Many of the top ten players had a disastrous outing at the Australian Open, including Swiatek, where 19-year-old Czech player Linda Noskova knocked her out in the third round.
Swiatek is OUT! đ±
The World No.1 suffers huge upset in Melbourne, beaten by 19-years old Czech big hope Linda Noskova 3-6 6-3 6-4
WHAT A STUNNER! pic.twitter.com/kN3T8Q8cJr
â We Are Tennis (@WeAreTennis) January 20, 2024
The Pole will try to get her reason back on track and win her third consecutive title in Qatar. The stage is set, and in this article, we delve a little deeper into the tournament.
When does the Qatar Open begin, and who will play?
Sunday, February 11, will see the start of the main draw of the tournament. It is an outdoor hardcourt event that will be played at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha, Qatar. The players will be playing with familiar balls, thoughâthe Australian Open Dunlop ball.
Like every tournament, this one will be played over seven days, with the finals on Saturday, February 17. The doubles teams will play first, followed by the singles finalists.
Swiatek will take to the courts in Doha as the defending champion. Her title run marked the beginning of her 37-match winning streak last year, when she took on Jessica Pegula in the finals and walked away with the silverware. Although Swiatek crashed out of the Australian Open early, she has been in dominant form. She hopes to rectify her mistakes from down under and replicate last year’s results.
Qatar TotalEnergies Open 2023 has a champion – @iga_swiatek đ”đ± after beating @JLPegula, Iga once again lifted a Falcon Trophy đ presented by H.E. Nasser Al Khaleifi, the president of QTF, QTEO Tournament Director Saad Al Mohannadi & honorable guests from WTA & TotalEnergies! pic.twitter.com/PePzD5AYY6
â Qatar Tennis Federation (@QatarTennis) February 18, 2023
On the doubles side, Jessica and her partner, Coco Gauff, are the defending champions. They will also try to repeat their remarkable run this year.
Seven of the top ten players will be competing. Aryna Sabalenka, the winner of the Australian Open, has decided to skip this tournament. This is the perfect opportunity for others to capitalize on her absence.
Elena Rybakina had an amazing start to the season by winning the title at the Brisbane International. She crashed out of the Australian Open in the second round, but she can make amends in Doha.
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Coco Gauff and Ons Jabeur are also among the top seeds in Doha. Gauff has been in remarkable form since the season began. She has won ten out of eleven matches so far and successfully defended her title in Auckland.
Jabeur has been struggling of late, but she will look to get back on track at the tournament. Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova will also be playing in Doha. Spanish star Paula Badosa will hope to stay free from injuries and will be playing as a wildcard this year.
Analysis of the draw
The draw for the tournament is finally out. Swiatek is leading the draw in Doha along with the US Open champion, Coco. The top eight seeds have gotten first-round byes.
Main draw in Doha (WTA 1000), where Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff are the top seeds.
1R: Naomi Osaka vs. Caroline Garcia pic.twitter.com/F7Z29KcNTq
â WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) February 9, 2024
Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka will be playing in Doha for the first time since 2018. She will lock horns with Caroline Garcia for the second time in weeks. Garcia had ousted Osaka from the Australian Open in a phenomenal display of tennis last month.
1st quadrant
Swiatek leads the top quarter of the draw in Doha. She is eyeing winning her third consecutive title this year. Only Serena Williams managed this feat when she won the Miami Open three times between 2013 and 2015. With a bye under her belt, world No. 1 will face either Sorana Cirstea or Sloane Stephens.
Jelena Ostapenko is also in the first quarter alongside Iga. The Latvian player has been in phenomenal form, and she has already captured her second title of the season in Linz. Ostapenko will face either Emma Raducanu, who got a wildcard, or Anhelina Kalinina.
Beatriz Haddad Maia and Victoria Azarenka are also in Jelena’s half of the draw. Only Azarenka has managed to defeat Ostapenko this year. However, if Jelena can overcome either player, she might face Swiatek and will fancy her chances. She has won all four of their previous encounters.
2nd quadrant
Jabeur and Maria Sakkari are two of the biggest names in the second quarter of the draw. The Tunisian will face either Lesia Tsurenko or Turkish wild card Zeynep Sonmez in the second round. The winner will lock horns with the winner of the Osaka-Garcia match.
In her first match in Doha, Sakkari will face either Noskova or a qualifier. Barbora Krejikova is also in Sakkari’s half of the draw. She is set to play against Anastasia Potapova in the first round.
3rd and 4th quadrants
Rybakina and Qinwen Zheng are the top seeds in their quarter of the draw. Zheng will be playing Doha on the back of her final run at the Australian Open. She will try to continue her rich vein of form in Qatar as well. Zheng will lock horns with Magda Linette or a qualifier in the second round.
Rybakina is currently setting Abu Dhabi on fire, as she made it to the finals of the WTA 500 event. Regardless of the result, Elena is sure to put up a fight in Doha as well. She will face Varvara Gracheva or Zhu Lin in her opener.
Marketa Vondrousova and Coco Gauff complete the bottom half of the draw. Vondrousova has struggled with injuries since winning Wimbledon. She will hope to find her footing on the tour this season.
Gauff has been sensational so far this season. Even though she faced defeat at the hands of Sabalenka in Melbourne, she stamped her class in Australia. She will face either Katerina Siniakova or Donna Vekic in the second round.
The prize money
This year, the winner of the Qatar Open will walk away with an enormous check. The total prize money for this year’s tournament is $3,211,715, a jump of 22% from last year.
Whoever wins the title will pocket a check for $523,485. The runner-up will earn $308,320 in prize money. This year, there are 64 players in the women’s singles draw and 32 players in the women’s doubles draw.
Since its inception in 2001, the Qatar Open has alternated between a WTA 500 and WTA 1000 tournament every year. This year on, it is a standalone 1000 event. Like every year, this year also promises high-quality tennis from the players.
