The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships has been disrupted by numerous withdrawals and retirements, starting with top seeds Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek. Additional players, including Daria Kasatkina and Sara Bejlek, have pulled out due to injuries, allowing Mirra Andreeva and Belinda Bencic to advance via walkovers. The situation has sparked debate over the WTA schedule's demands.
The 2026 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, a WTA 1000 event, began under scrutiny after world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 2 Iga Swiatek withdrew before the draw. Sabalenka cited not feeling 100%, stating, “I’m really sorry, I have to withdraw from Dubai. I have such a special connection with the tournament, the fans, and the city. Unfortunately, I am not feeling 100%. But I hope to be back next year and wish the tournament a great event.” Swiatek pointed to scheduling adjustments.
Tournament director Salah Tahlak expressed frustration, suggesting, “They should be docked ranking points.” Coco Gauff countered this, saying, “Do I think players should be docked points? Not really. We already have the mandatory. We get zeros on our ranking for everything,” and added, “For this point in the schedule, it’s hard to play all the tournaments now that they’re two weeks. The ask of players are becoming more and more and more.”
Pre-draw withdrawals included Naomi Osaka (No. 16), Madison Keys (No. 17), Lois Boisson (No. 35), McCartney Kessler (No. 31), Marta Kostyuk (No. 26), Veronika Kudermetova (No. 49), Eva Lys (No. 59), Karolina Pliskova (No. 267 PR), and Marketa Vondrousova (No. 37). Post-draw exits featured Elisabetta Cocciaretto (No. 40), Victoria Mboko (No. 10), Karolina Muchova (No. 11), Maria Sakkari (No. 34), and Zheng Qinwen (No. 24).
Mid-tournament, Barbora Krejcikova (No. 53) withdrew with a left thigh issue, giving Amanda Anisimova a walkover. Daria Kasatkina (No. 61) pulled out due to a right hip injury, advancing Mirra Andreeva, the defending champion and No. 5 seed, who will face Jaqueline Cristian or Ella Seidel next. Sara Bejlek (No. 41), fresh off her first WTA title in Abu Dhabi, retired with an abdominal injury, allowing Belinda Bencic, the 2019 champion and No. 9 seed, to proceed against Elina Svitolina or Paula Badosa.
Retirements included Hailey Baptiste (No. 45) during her match against Alex Eala, who led 6-4, 0-1; Eala responded empathetically, saying, “Obviously, no one likes advancing in this way... how difficult it is to maintain your health physically. So I really hope that Hailey is okay and will bounce back soon.” Other retirements were Jaqueline Cristian (No. 39) vs. Ella Seidel, Paula Badosa (No. 70) vs. Elina Svitolina, and Tereza Valentova (No. 43) in qualifying.
Additional withdrawals involved Wang Xinyu and Jessica Pegula from the Middle East swing. The ongoing exits highlight injury and workload pressures early in the season.