"Can't wait for Coco Gauff to snatch their wings” - Fans react to Aryna Sabalenka & Iga Swiatek enjoying quality time at Qatar Open

Fans reacted to Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek spending quality time together in Doha. The two stars recently arrived for the 2025 Qatar Open after wrapping up their campaigns at the Australian Open.

They will compete in this WTA 1000 tournament, which will be played on outdoor hard courts from February 9 to 15. The players will give their best to win, with the event boasting a prize pool of over $3.6 million. According to WTA Tennis, the singles champion will take home $597,000 along with a crucial 1,000 ranking points.

Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek have faced each other 12 times, with the Polish leading their head-to-head record 8-4. While the current World No. 1 and 2 have built a fierce rivalry on the court, their off-court bond tells a different story. Many fans admire their close friendship, often calling them best friends, though some remain skeptical about its authenticity.

On February 7, Sabalenka and Swiatek were spotted on the court for an exciting photoshoot with the Qatar Open trophy. Sabalenka looked stunning in a white outfit, while Swiatek rocked a pink ensemble. Their appearance together sparked mixed reactions among fans.

One said they were tired of their "fake friendship," just waiting for Coco Gauff to beat them.

“Already tired of this fake friendship. Can't wait for Gauff to snatch both of their wigs.”

Someone described Sabalenka as lucky due to Iga's forgiving nature, calling Swiatek the "nicest and kindest human."

“Sabalenka is very lucky that Iga has no hard feelings towards her after all bad thing Sabalenka has done in the past. Iga is the nicest and kindest human on this planet.”

Another person described their friendship as "overrated," adding that they lacked maturity and didn’t deserve to be at the top.

“overrated... there is no a complete, mature female tennis player in WTA currently- no real No 1- ranking is just statistics”

One person even took a jab at Swiatek over her recent doping allegation, saying,

“1 great player and 1 drug cheat”

While others admired their adorable friendship and said.

“So they’re bffs now?” one asked.

“The two best in the world,” one said.

“Love them ,” one wrote.

Aryna Sabalenka will kick off her Qatar Open 2025 campaign on Tuesday, February 11, against the winner of the match between Emma Raducanu and Ekaterina Alexandrova. Meanwhile, Iga Swiatek is set to face either Maria Sakkari or a qualifier in her opening match on the same day.

Aryna Sabalenka on her friendship with Iga Swiatek

Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek at WTA Finals 2024 - Previews - Source: Getty

Aryna Sabalenka recently opened up about her friendship with Iga Swiatek, which has grown stronger over time. Their bond off the court has flourished, especially after they shared a fun TikTok video together during the 2024 WTA Finals.

During a press conference at the 2025 Brisbane International, the Belarusian player shared that she and the Pole have a great bond off the court, emphasizing friendship over rivalry. She described her as a "nice person" and said she had fun getting to know her.

"Yeah, it was fun. It all started on the Finals. I asked her to do TikTok. I was, 'Okay, whatever, I'm going to ask and see what happens.' I thought we have to stay together and have fun and just enjoy our rivalry, not be too tough on each other. So I asked. We did it. Since that we already practise couple of times. Then I was doing fitness after our fit. She was like, 'I can join you guys,” Sabalenka said.

"It's been becoming more chill between us, too. I have to say she's really nice person. It was fun get to know each other," she continued.