WTA 1000 Dubai: Tournament Preview and Outright Picks
by Bradley Gibbs | by Bradley Gibbs
Tournament history
After last week’s WTA 1000 fun in Doha, we have another high-quality event to get stuck into. Known currently as the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, this tournament was won last year by youngster Mirra Andreeva, who is not the only up-and-comer to clinch the title in recent years.
Back in 2024, at the start of what was very much a breakthrough year for the Italian, Jasmine Paolini got the job done in Dubai.
See below for all recent winners and finalists of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships:
2017 - Elina Svitolina defeated Caroline Wozniacki
2018 - Elina Svitolina defeated Daria Kasatkina
2019 - Simona Halep defeated Elena Rybakina
2020 - Garbine Muguruza defeated Barbora Krejcikova
2022 - Jelena Ostapenko defeated Veronika Kudermetova
2023 - Barbora Krejcikova defeated Iga Swiatek
2024 - Jasmine Paolini defeated Anna Kalinskaya
2025 - Mirra Andreeva defeated Clara Tauson
Having scooped the prize a year ago, Mirra Andreeva is back to defend her title this time around, and as the defending champion (and the fifth seed), the Russian competitor has been awarded a bye, meaning that she won’t play until the second-round stage.
Big event for big players
The tournament history above shows that this is no small tournament. Not only have some top players won the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in recent years, but there’s a star-studded line-up this time around.
That’s right, this is a big event for big players. We may not see Iga Swiatek or Aryna Sabalenka this week, but world number three and recent Australian Open winner Elena Rybakina is in the draw, as is world number four Amanda Anisimova. Joining those two will be the sensational Coco Gauff, meaning that three of the current top five are due to be involved in Dubai.
With Mirra Andreeva, Jessica Pegula, Jasmine Paolini, Elina Svitolina and Ekaterina Alexandrova all due to compete in Dubai this week, we’ll see eight of the current top 10 involved.
Belinda Bencic, Linda Noskova, Victoria Mboko and Clara Tauson are all in the draw too, so that makes 13 of the top 15, so the tennis really should be of the highest quality, let’s be honest.
Svitolina to spring a surprise?
From a betting point of view, as the highest-ranked player, Elena Rybakina enters the tournament as the outright favorite. The Kazakh, who recently won the Australian Open, is currently priced around +275 to go all the way, and let’s face it, she’s a top, top player, so it won’t be a surprise if she walks away with the title. After all, she’s reached the final of this event before.
From our top sportsbooks, here’s how the pre-tournament futures betting stands ahead of Monday’s action:
Elena Rybakina +275
Coco Gauff +700
Amanda Anisimova +700
Mirra Andreeva +1000
Jessica Pegula +1000
Victoria Mboko +1400
Elina Svitolina +2000
Iva Jovic +2500
All other players +3300 or bigger.
I certainly wouldn’t rush to put anyone off either Coco Gauff or Amanda Anisimova at odds of +700. Both players are more than capable of winning tournaments of this nature, and if either player turns up in form this week, then odds of +700 could quickly look quite sizable. The same can be said for Andreeva, who as the defending champion could possibly be shorter than +1000.
However, the player who is the most generously priced, as far as I’m concerned, is Elina Svitolina. The rejuvenated Ukrainian has been in fantastic form at the start of 2026, there can be no denying that, and if we pair her excellent recent form with the fact that she’s a proven performer on the courts in Dubai, odds of +2000 start to look far too chunky.
Now ranked at number nine in the world, Svitolina is more than capable of beating the very best, while she’s already won a tournament this season, proving that she has the determination to get over the line when it matters most.
With her already having beaten the likes of Gauff and Andreeva this season, with a tournament win under her belt already, at a tournament that she’s twice won before, the four-time Grand Slam semi-finalist deserves more respect than odds of +2000 would have us believe.
Our WTA 1000 Dubai Pick: Elina Svitolina to Win the Tournament
