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The Middle East swing continues with the season's first WTA 1000 tournament, the Qatar Open. It will be held from February 9-15, 2025, in Doha. Recently crowned Australian Open champion Madison Keys is sidelined at the moment due to an injury. However, the rest of the top 10 is accounted for, led by World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka.
Sabalenka is the top seed, followed by three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek as the second seed. Coco Gauff and Jasmine Paolini are seeded third and fourth, while Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula, Zheng Qinwen, and Emma Navarro are seeded fifth to eighth respectively.
All eight seeds have received a first-round bye. This is the first of four WTA 1000 tournaments lined up over the next eight weeks, so players will be keen to begin this stretch on a high note. With that in mind, here's a look at how the Qatar Open draw could unfold over the next few days:
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First Quarter: Aryna Sabalenka vying for her second Qatar Open title
Seeded players: (1) Aryna Sabalenka, (6) Jessica Pegula, (10) Daria Kasatkina, and (14) Anna Kalinskaya
Expected quarterfinal: Aryna Sabalenka vs Jessica Pegula
Dark horse: Clara Tauson
Sabalenka came quite close to capturing her third consecutive title at the Australian Open last month. However, she fell to an inspired Keys in three sets in the final. She won the Brisbane International prior to that, and has a 11-1 record this year.
Sabalenka won the Qatar Open in 2020 with a win over Petra Kvitova in the final. She will begin her campaign against the winner of the match between Emma Raducanu and Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Raducanu beat Alexandrova in the first round of the Australian Open en route to the third round. However, she's now on a three-match losing streak, and the Russian won the Linz Open last week. Sabalenka will be favored to beat either of them, and is likely to bump into Clara Tauson in the third round.
Tauson will need to get past Elise Mertens in her opener, followed by Kalinskaya. The Russian has been frequently injured this year, and hasn't been at her best. Pegula, the next highest seed in this quarter, will begin her quest for a title against either Elina Svitolina or Marketa Vondrousova.
Pegula was the runner-up in Adelaide but was knocked out in the third round of the Australian Open. Both Svitolina and Vondrousova are tough players to face so early on. If she makes it through this round, then Kasatkina could await her in the third round. The Russian has been quite inconsistent this year, and could be eliminated prior to this round.
A quarterfinal date with Sabalenka awaits Pegula after that. The World No. 1 beat her in the Cincinnati Open and the US Open finals last year. She will be favored to come out on top once again.
Quarterfinal prediction: Aryna Sabalenka def. Jessica Pegula
Second Quarter: Coco Gauff gunning for her third WTA 1000 title
Seeded players: (3) Coco Gauff, (8) Emma Navarro, (9) Paula Badosa, (13) Beatriz Haddad Maia
Expected quarterfinal: Coco Gauff vs Emma Navarro
Dark horse: Amanda Anisimova
Gauff arrived as one of the favorites to win the Australian Open after an impressive performance at the United Cup, where she led her team to the title. However, she went down to Badosa in the quarterfinals. She has been handed a decent draw at the Qatar Open to bounce back from that setback.
Gauff is likely to face Marta Kostyuk in the second round. Though they have had some fierce battles in the past, the American leads their rivalry 3-1. She's likely to meet either Haddad Maia or Magda Linette in the third round, and will be expected to beat them to make the last eight.
Gauff's potential quarterfinal opponents have given her a lot of grief in the past. She's likely to meet either Badosa or Navarro in the quarterfinals. She just lost to the Spaniard a couple of weeks ago, and her compatriot tossed her out of Wimbledon and the US Open last year.
However, Navarro has struggled in most of her matches this year. She played four straight three-set matches to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals, where she was defeated by Swiatek. Badosa recently competed in the Abu Dhabi Open, and left without a win.
Gauff could avenge her previous losses to them if they cross paths at the Qatar Open. Anisimova is another player to look out for in this section, who could cause some damage if she finds her best form.
Quarterfinal prediction: Coco Gauff def. Paula Badosa
Third Quarter: Zheng Qinwen looking to move on after a disappointing outing at the Australian Open
Seeded players: (4) Jasmine Paolini, (7) Zheng Qinwen, (11) Diana Shnaider, (16) Liudmila Samsonova
Expected quarterfinal: Jasmine Paolini vs Zheng Qinwen
Dark horse: Ashlyn Krueger
Zheng achieved her first significant result at last year's Australian Open, where she advanced to her maiden Major final. However, she crashed out in the second round this year. She will begin her Qatar Open campaign against either Ons Jabeur or McCartney Kessler.
Zheng could then bump into Krueger or Shnaider in the third round. The American is currently a semifinalist at the Abu Dhabi Open, and will face Linda Noskova for a spot in the final on Friday (February 7). However, with hardly any matches under her belt, the Chinese is unlikely to make a deep run here.
Paolini has a rather smooth passage to the quarterfinals if she capitalizes on the opportunity as most players in her part of the draw are out of form. Jelena Ostapenko has won only two matches since last year's Wimbledon, Caroline Garcia is still in the early stages of her comeback, and Samsonova is simply inconsistent. This is the Italian's section to lose.
Quarterfinal prediction: Ashlyn Krueger def. Jasmine Paolini
Fourth Quarter: Iga Swiatek eyeing a historic fourth consecutive Qatar Open title
Seeded players: (2) Iga Swiatek, (5) Elena Rybakina, (12) Mirra Andreeva, (15) Donna Vekic
Expected quarterfinal: Iga Swiatek vs Elena Rybakina
Dark horse: Peyton Stearns
Swiatek led Poland to another final at the United Cup, and they came up short once again. She lost only one of her singles matches, against Gauff in the final. She then reached the semifinals of the Australian Open for the first time since 2022.
Swiatek had a match point against Keys but couldn't close out the match, and suffered a heartbreaking loss. After the French Open, the Qatar Open is where she has tasted the most success, and has a 13-1 record at the venue.
Swiatek is likely to begin her quest for a fourth title at the venue against Maria Sakkari in the second round. She could run into Yulia Putintseva in the third round, who upset her at this stage at Wimbledon last year. Linda Noskova, who has bothered her in the past as well, could be another possible adversary at this stage.
Swiatek could set up a re-match of last year's final with Rybakina in the quarterfinals. The Kazakh could face the likes of Mirra Andreeva and Peyton Stearns en route to the last eight. However, the Pole has established herself as the player to beat here, and she will be the favorite to win regardless of who's on the other side of the net.
Quarterfinal prediction: Iga Swiatek def. Elena Rybakina
Semifinal prediction
Coco Gauff def. Aryna Sabalenka
Iga Swiatek def. Ashlyn Krueger
Prediction for the final
Iga Swiatek def. Coco Gauff
