The draw for the 2026 Qatar TotalEnergies Open has been revealed, placing top seed Iga Swiatek and defending champion Amanda Anisimova in the same half for a possible semifinal clash. Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina headlines the bottom half, where she could face Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals. With several top players absent, the WTA 1000 event in Doha promises intriguing matchups among the remaining stars.
The Qatar TotalEnergies Open, the season's first WTA 1000 event, kicks off in Doha with a draw featuring seven of the top 10 players in the PIF WTA Rankings. Absent are World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, and Naomi Osaka, leaving Iga Swiatek as the top seed and three-time champion of the tournament.
In the top half, Swiatek opens against either Janice Tjen or Sorana Cirstea, potentially facing 16th seed Elise Mertens in the third round and sixth seed Jasmine Paolini in the quarterfinals. Paolini starts in the second round against Maria Sakkari or Zeynep Sonmez, with ninth seed Linda Noskova as a possible third-round opponent. A notable first-round matchup is Noskova versus Maya Joint, pitting two young talents against each other.
Third seed Anisimova, who won her first WTA 1000 title here last year by beating Jelena Ostapenko in the final, begins against Karolina Pliskova or a qualifier. She could meet 14th seed Karolina Muchova in the third round and seventh seed Elina Svitolina in the quarters. Svitolina, fresh from the Australian Open semifinals, faces Cristina Bucsa or Dayana Yastremska in the second round, with 12th seed Emma Navarro as a potential third-round foe. A projected semifinal between Swiatek and Anisimova would pit the last two Doha champions against each other.
The bottom half features second seed Rybakina, who has won 20 of her last 21 matches, starting against Wang Xinyu or Emiliana Arango, then possibly 15th seed Diana Shnaider. She is on a collision course with fifth seed Andreeva in the quarterfinals; Andreeva beat Rybakina in Dubai and Indian Wells last spring and won the Adelaide title last month. Andreeva opens against Magda Linette or a qualifier, with 10th seed Victoria Mboko as a third-round possibility.
Fourth seed Coco Gauff heads the other quarter, facing Elsa Jacquemot or McCartney Kessler in the second round, then potentially 13th seed Liudmila Samsonova. Her quarterfinal opponent could be eighth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, who plays Ostapenko or Paula Badosa first. Other notables include 11th seed Clara Tauson, Emma Raducanu, and returning Zheng Qinwen, who faces Sofia Kenin in her debut after injury.
The projected quarterfinal lineup includes Swiatek vs. Paolini, Anisimova vs. Svitolina, Alexandrova vs. Gauff, and Andreeva vs. Rybakina, setting the stage for high-stakes battles in Doha.
