World No. 9 Belinda Bencic tops the seeds for the 2026 Abu Dhabi WTA Women's Tennis Open as she defends her title. The Swiss player receives a bye into the second round, while rising star Alex Eala faces a challenging opener against Zeynep Sonmez. Victoria Mboko has withdrawn from the event as a precaution.
The draw for the Abu Dhabi WTA Women's Tennis Open, a WTA 500 event on hard courts at Zayed Sports City International Tennis Centre, was released ahead of the tournament running from January 30 to February 7, 2026. Belinda Bencic, ranked No. 9, earned the top seed and a bye into the second round, where she will face either qualifier Cristian Bucsa or another qualifier. The 2021 Tokyo Olympics singles champion returned to competitive tennis 10 months after giving birth to her daughter Bella, winning the 2025 title by defeating Marketa Vondrousova, Elena Rybakina, and Ashlyn Krueger in the final. This victory marked her ninth career title and propelled her back into the top 10 at the start of 2026, following a 5-0 singles loss at the United Cup and a second-round exit at the Australian Open.
In the top half, third seed Clara Tauson could meet Bencic in the quarterfinals, while seventh seed Jelena Ostapenko lurks as a potential opponent for the Swiss star. Leylah Fernandez, originally sixth seed, faces Ajla Tomljanovic in the first round, with a projected quarterfinal against Tauson. The bottom half features second seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, who starts against Beatriz Haddad Maia or Dayana Yastremska and could face Eala or Sonmez next.
Twenty-year-old Alex Eala, ranked No. 49 after a first-round loss at the Australian Open, opens against No. 112 Zeynep Sonmez, who reached the second round in Melbourne and is set to rise 33 spots in the rankings. Eighth seed Paula Badosa begins against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, with a possible quarterfinal against Alexandrova. Fourth seed Emma Navarro also gets a bye and faces Hailey Baptiste or Teodora Kostovic first.
World No. 16 Victoria Mboko, slated as sixth seed, withdrew precautionary after a hyperextension in Adelaide. She stated, “It’s been a couple of long weeks with a lot of matches, so it’s normal that as the matches progress, you start feeling something. I’m taking precautions right now and making sure everything is okay when I play my matches.” Betting odds list Bencic as the favorite at +275, with Emma Navarro at +750 and Fernandez at +1000. First-round matches include Eala vs. Sonmez on February 1 at 9:10 AM ET.
