Preview WTA Abu Dhabi Open featuring Elena Rybakina, Paula Badosa, and Emma Raducanu
WTA
The WTA 500 Abu Dhabi Open kicks off on Monday, 3 February, marking the first major event of the Middle East Swing and featuring the return of several top players, led by Elena Rybakina, Paula Badosa, Daria Kasatkina, and Yulia Putintseva.
The top four seeds receive a first-round bye, giving them a couple of extra days before hitting the court again after the Australian Open. However, players like Emma Raducanu, Ons Jabeur, Marketa Vondrousova, and Caroline Garcia will be in action from the opening round.
In the top half of the draw, Rybakina is the tournament favourite and awaits the winner between Sonay Kartal and Katie Volynets—both qualifiers—to determine her first opponent in Abu Dhabi. Also in her quarter, Ons Jabeur and seventh seed Jelena Ostapenko will headline a blockbuster first-round clash, with either potentially posing an early challenge for Rybakina in a possible quarterfinal showdown.
The second quarter features a Grand Slam champions' battle between two wildcards—2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova and 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu. This intriguing matchup will see both players aiming to build momentum and climb back up the rankings. Fourth seed Yulia Putintseva awaits the winner in the second round, while fifth seed Liudmila Samsonova and wildcard Belinda Bencic loom as major threats in the quarterfinals.
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In the bottom half of the draw, Paula Badosa and Daria Kasatkina await their opponents for their debuts. The Spaniard will face the winner between Magdalena Frech and Linda Noskova, while Kasatkina will take on the winner of the all-American clash between McCartney Kessler and Ashlyn Krueger.
Other notable first-round matches include seventh seed Leylah Fernandez against Ekaterina Alexandrova, Caroline Garcia versus Lulu Sun, and Sofia Kenin against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
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- Well said.
mandoist03-02-2025 - So tennisuptodate doesn't even make this event a headline on this site? I had to find it hidden here. Not a word about Yastremska trying to ruin Alexandrova's celebration with her postgame actions?? According to WTA regulations, Yastremska has some punishment coming her way for walking-off court, blowing-off postgame rituals with the winner; including no photos, etc.mandoist03-02-2025
- "So while perhaps the big issue of having to wait for a call-up is there, so is the coaching carousel. .." Well, there you go. Emma's 'career' in one precise sentence. Sponsors bailing-out on her will follow (so far, only Porsche and Dior).mandoist02-02-2025
- Typical narcissistic cynicism of Kyrgios! Very rarely has a decent word to say about anything. He's abusive, jeeringly loud and obnoxious. He needs to be officially called out by both the ATP and ITF for using foul language in public spaces such as social media. The guy's a vampiric hoon who sucks the lifeblood out of tennis by trying to bolster popularity of the good-for-nothing bad boy image. I once admired Kyrgios for his previous good-willed willingness to get honest help for his mental health issues but that all went down the drain once he figured he could reel money in through publicity stunts using the negativity of his problems in such a way as to declare them 'no longer problems' but something which he could become more entangled in just to boost an anti-hero image. Shame on him for turning his back on common human decency and good-willed fraternity. Instead he opts to make a 'hero' out of villany. I'm sorry Nick but u are only doing more harm to yourself in the long run by trying to serve up a bad name for the sport you claim to so proudly represent. Get real mate, tennis is not for hoons, neither is hoon-behaviour the hallmark of sporting integrity. It's an utter disgrace!
Sueiyin02-02-2025 - This pattern is ridiculous. How the hell... oh, right.mandoist02-02-2025
- Whoever wrote this is clearly lacking in tennis knowledge! Indian Wells and Miami are 128 draws, therefore Emma will have direct entry with her current ranking. Please do some fact checking or research before showing your ignorance like this!Lyca30-01-2025
- It's clear major sponsors are quietly slipping away from their Raducanu endorsement(s). What took so long? Contractual obligations, I suppose.mandoist29-01-2025
- They 'deserve' one another!!mandoist29-01-2025
- Three hours of mind-numbingly poor "Tennis". I was openly begging them for a few volleys! Had Busca been even 50% her usual self it would have been over in at least half that period of time.mandoist27-01-2025
- If judicial systems will not hold Elitists accountable, then The People should... no matter what setting that may be.mandoist27-01-2025
