Doha WTA 1000 Draw Revealed: Swiatek Top Seed, Defending Champ Anisimova in the Mix, Jacquemot to Face Kessler
Next week, the WTA tour hosts the season's first WTA 1000 event in Doha. Despite a wave of withdrawals for this 2026 edition (Sabalenka, Pegula, Keys, Vondrousova, Kostyuk, Osaka, Jovic, and Lys will not be present), the draw remains competitive in Qatar.
Winner of the tournament in 2022, 2023, and 2024, Iga Swiatek will be the number 1 seed. With a first-round bye, she will enter the fray in the round of 16 against Janice Tjen or Sorana Cirstea.
Exciting Matchups on Tap for the First Round
Fresh off her Australian Open title, Elena Rybakina, the number 2 seed, will face Wang Xinyu or Emiliana Arango in the second round. Defending champion Amanda Anisimova, meanwhile, will take on the winner of the match between Karolina Pliskova and a qualifier.
The only Frenchwoman in the main draw—pending Varvara Gracheva, who is competing in qualifying—Elsa Jacquemot must overcome McCartney Kessler to set up a clash with Coco Gauff in the next round.
Last year's finalist, Jelena Ostapenko, will square off against Paula Badosa in the first round. The draw features several intriguing matchups: Linda Noskova vs. Maya Joint, Maria Sakkari vs. Zeynep Sönmez, Jaqueline Cristian vs. Karolina Muchova, and Marie Bouzkova vs. Victoria Mboko.
Zheng Qinwen, absent since October due to an elbow injury, makes her highly anticipated return and will challenge Sofia Kenin. Find the complete draw for the Doha WTA 1000 tournament below.
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