WTA 1000 Doha: Preview and Outright Picks
by Bradley Gibbs | by Tyler Doty
Tournament history
Far from a low-key tournament, the event in Doha is an important fixture on the WTA calendar. For many, outside of the Australian Open, this is the biggest tournament during the outdoor hard-court season.
Known officially as the Qatar TotalEnergies Open, this event has been won by some top players in recent times, as we’ll see below.
Recent champions and finalists of the Qatar Open:
- 2020 - Aryna Sabalenka defeated Petra Kvitova
- 2021 - Petra Kvitova defeated Garbine Muguruza
- 2022 - Iga Swiatek defeated Annet Kontaveit
- 2023 - Iga Swiatek defeated Jessica Pegula
- 2024 - Iga Swiatek defeated Elena Rybakina
- 2025 - Amanda Anisimova defeated Jelena Ostapenko
Since 2021, some of the biggest names in the game have triumphed in Doha, confirming that this is very much a serious event. Interestingly, each of the last six winners have, at the very least, featured in the final of a Grand Slam, further showcasing that this is a tournament for the big dogs.
Swiatek looking to regain her crown
As we can see from the recent tournament history above, Iga Swiatek loves to get down to business in Doha, where she has scooped the top prize not once, not twice, but thrice since 2022. Having failed to come out on top last season, she’s now looking to regain her crown.
The Polish player has made a more than reasonable start to 2026, reaching the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, but she’ll now be looking to kick on and pick up her first tournament win of the season.
Swiatek is the top seed this week, but she’s not the pre-tournament favorite. That honor goes the way of Elena Rybakina, who knocked Swiatek out on her way to securing the title in Melbourne a few weeks ago. Will the Pole get her revenge here? Or will the Kazakh player go all the way for the second time in 2026?
Rely on Rybakina
To be honest, as a betting man, I’m finding it hard to ignore Rybakina, who has been red-hot during the early weeks of the season. The world number three is arguably in the form of her life, and it’s very hard to ignore the way she dug deep to beat Aryna Sabalenka in Melbourne a few weeks ago.
The line-up is high-quality, with not only Swiatek lining up in opposition. Also featuring in Doha this week will be Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Mirra Andreeva and Elina Svitolina, all of whom currently feature in the WTA’s top 10, so naturally, it won’t be easy for Rybakina in Qatar, and I’m certainly not saying that she’ll win this without having to seriously fight. She’s shown nothing but serious grit and determination at the start of this season, though, and I expect her to pick up where she left off in Australia.
There isn’t a player hotter than Rybakina right now, so much so that it would be a sizable shock if she wasn’t to go deep. Not only did Rybakina win the Australian Open, but in seven matches, she dropped just one set, playing like a player determined to reach the very top of the women’s game in 2026. Clearly she has the ability to do just that.
She has pleasing form in this part of the world too, reaching the final of this event back in 2024. She lost to Swiatek on that occasion, but clearly she’s improved since then, while Swiatek is nowhere near as dominant as she was when the pair last battled it on these courts.
Our WTA 1000 Doha Pick: Elena Rybakina to win the tournament.
