Emma Raducanu has been backed to win more majors by her and Andy Murray’s former coach, Mark Petchey, who claimed that the 2021 US Open champion ‘is one of the best athletes on the tour’.

Raducanu spent eight months on the injury sidelines last year, after undergoing surgeries to both wrists and her left ankle, before returning at the Auckland Classic in January.

Since coming back to the WTA Tour, the 21-year-old has won three of her seven matches, with her most recent coming in the form of a defeat to Anhelina Kalinina in Doha.

Despite this, Petchey appears impressed with the player he coached for a brief period in 2020, “She is moving well. She’s probably one of the best athletes out there on the tour right now. She moves phenomenally well, I don’t think we talk about it enough. If the game is there, then the athleticism backs up.”

Raducanu has often been criticised for her frequent changing of coaches, with the Brit having a total of five coaches across two years.

She is now working with childhood coach Nick Cavaday, and Petchey revealed his hope for Raducanu to have more stability this year.

“I personally would like to see a little bit more consistency in her team,” said the former top 100 player. “But the one thing I will say about Emma is the 10 months that I spent with her, there was not a day, there was not a minute that she didn’t put in. Every single time she hit a tennis ball, and it was 100 percent commitment to it.”

Petchey continued his defence of Raducanu and backed the former world No.10 to add to her Grand Slam tally, “I think there are people out there that have a very wrong perception of what she is like as a person and as a competitor out there. She is going to give everything to this sport. And ultimately I believe she will be a multiple Grand Slam champion.”

Raducanu revealed that she would be heading home to practice after her early exit in Doha, and it is currently unclear as to what her next tournament will be.

Inside the baseline…

Emma Raducanu receives a lot of flack, a lot of which is unnecessary, so it is nice to hear someone who has firsthand experience describe her in such a positive light. Although Raducanu has a win percentage of less than 50% so far in 2024, there have been a lot of positive signs, even in the defeats. Hopefully Raducanu decides to enter some lower calibre tournaments to allow herself the opportunity to get more match practice in and help build the ranking back up.

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Jannik Sinner has continued his rise up the ATP Rankings, after winning the event in Rotterdam following his maiden Grand Slam triumph.

Sinner was playing the first tournament since his Australian Open victory last month, cruising to the ATP 500 title by dropping only one set.

As a result, the 22-year-old has overtaken Daniil Medvedev to rise up to No.3 in the rankings and has therefore become the highest ranked Italian singles player in ATP history.

Thank you Rotterdam! I always enjoy my time here, a great week and amazing support. Another awesome battle @alexdeminaur ????????

Forza ????#12 pic.twitter.com/kLvdS7QdLy

— Jannik Sinner (@janniksin) February 18, 2024

Another tournament that took place this week was on the hardcourts of Delray Beach, Florida, but due to rain the final between Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul has been postponed to later today.

Big Movers

The biggest upward mover inside the top 100 this week was the champion in Buenos Aires, Facundo Diaz Acosta, who claimed his first ATP title at his hometown event.

Diaz Acosta received a wildcard for the tournament, where his best previous performance was reaching the second round, and did not drop a single set all week in the Argentine capital.

As a result of beating Nicolas Jarry in the final, Diaz Acosta has risen 28 places upto a new career high of No.59.

Other significant climbers this week are Emil Ruusuvuori (+12 to No.43), Marcos Giron (+8 to No.44), Alexander Shevchenko (+12 to No.45) and Federico Coria (+21 to No.85).

Stefanos Tsitsipas has only fallen one place in the rankings this week, but it means that the 25-year-old is now outside of the ATP top 10 for the first time since 2019.

The Greek is back in action in Los Cabos this week, but is the defending champion so can only defend points and not gain any.

Some of the more vast fallers in the ATP rankings this week are Max Purcell (-10 to No.51), Miomir Kecmanovic (-14 to No.54), Mackenzie McDonald (-12 to No.61), Stan Wawrinka (-7 to No.67), Yoshihito Nishioka (-7 to No.84), Bernabe Zapata Miralles (-15 to No.93), Thanasi Kokkinakis (-24 to No.103) and Juan Pablo Varillas (-23 to No.108).

ATP Rankings Top 20 (19/02/24)

Here is the most recent update of the current top 20 ranked ATP players:

For a full list of the rankings, visit the official ATP website

Race to the ATP Finals in Turin (19/02/24)

The ATP Finals are a highly anticipated event that take place at the end of each year, featuring the top eight singles players and doubles teams from the tennis season.

Jannik Sinner has utilised Daniil Medvedev’s absence to extend his lead at the top of the race, with Rotterdam runner-up Alex de Minaur also climbing a few spots:

1. Jannik Sinner – 2500 points

2. Daniil Medvedev – 1300 points

3. Alexander Zverev – 1135 points

4. Novak Djokovic – 860 points

5. Alex de Minaur – 795 points

6. Andrey Rublev – 750 points

7. Grigor Dimitrov – 715 points

8. Hubert Hurkacz – 700 points

—————————————————-

9. Taylor Fritz – 610 points

10. Tommy Paul – 565 points

Next week

This week sees ATP action taking place across three continents, with tournaments in Rio de Janeiro, Doha and Los Cabos.

Carlos Alcaraz is the top seed at the South American clay court event, as he looks to avenge his final defeat last year and return to form after being beaten in straight sets by Nicolas Jarry last week in Buenos Aires.

Enhorabuena a Nico por el partido y suerte en la final! ???????? Gracias ???????? por el cariño de esta semana! ????????????????????

???? Getty pic.twitter.com/94ENFeumH2

— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) February 18, 2024

Also looking to return to form is three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray, who has lost his last four consecutive matches and is defending runner-up points in Doha from last year.

READ MORE – Tennis on TV Next Week: How to watch WTA Dubai, ATP Doha and more!

ATP Rankings rules

ATP rankings track and rank all the players on tour over a 52-week period. Points are awarded for performance, with the biggest tournaments giving out the most points over the course of the year.

Those rankings are then used to determine a number of things, such as seedings at tournaments and deciding who qualifies for the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin.

ATP rankings points awarded/tournament

The following points are awarded for the different tiers of tournaments on the ATP Tour, with some slight alterations made for the 2024 season:

Admissible tournaments

To prevent players from manipulating the rankings by playing a large amount of smaller tournaments, only 19 tournaments are admissible over the course of the year to make up a ranking.

That number does not include the ATP Finals, with that treated as an extra earned opportunity to win rankings points. However, the bigger and most prestigious tournaments are considered ‘mandatory’ entries. For example, if a player lost in round one of a Grand Slam, they would not be permitted to omit it from their ranking in favour of an ATP 250 which earned them more points.

Therefore, players who compete at all the mandatory events in a season will have the following breakdown of admissible rankings points:

• 4 Grand Slams
• 8 Masters 1000
• 7 ‘Best Other’ performances

The rankings always cover the previous 52-week period, so any points won further back than that are deducted from a player’s total. That player will, though, have the chance to ‘defend’ their points by repeating or improving upon their previous performance.

An example would be a player who was a defeated finalist at the US Open in 2023 will have 1200 points deducted from their ranking following the 2024 final. Those points would then be replaced by those won at the 2024 tournament.

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Aryna Sabalenka is gearing up to play her first tournament since retaining the Australian Open title, and the Belarusian has spoken about her desire to keep on winning.

Sabalenka elected to skip last week’s event in Doha, but is present for the WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai as the second seed.

And the 25-year-old has spoken about the mental work she has done to help herself become a two-time major champion, “I guess I was always searching for something which can help me to control myself better. After some years working with a psychologist, I just decided to take the responsibility on myself and not wait for somebody to help you fix something.

“At the end the only thing helping me is myself; just stop[ping] expecting people to fix my problems, [and] start fixing my problems by myself. I think that’s brought much more confidence and much more control.”

Sabalenka’s best result at the WTA 1000 event in Dubai is reaching the quarter-finals, and the world No.2 is hoping to add a 15th career title in the Middle East this week.

“My mindset is to keep doing what I’m doing, keep fighting, keep working,” revealed Sabalenka. “After my career, to look back and think, ‘Whoa, I was able to achieve that. That’s crazy’.

She continued, “I’m not the type of person who is going to win something and stop. Like I said, I’m addicted to wins. I felt like it’s just something in my blood and I keep doing, keep working, and hopefully keep winning.”

Two-time @AustralianOpen champion and World No2, @SabalenkaA, kicks off her Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships campaign with a shopping spree at @DubaiDutyFree! ???? pic.twitter.com/7ioqHOMG9K

— Dubai Tennis Champs (@DDFTennis) February 18, 2024

As the second seed, Sabalenka receives a bye to the second round where she will play Donna Vekic, who actually has a winning record (2-5) against the Australian Open champion.

Inside the baseline…

Aryna Sabalenka is coming into the Dubai Tennis Championships fresh, following her dominant performance in Melbourne last month. It will be interesting to see if she can continue this form on the hard courts of Dubai, where she has never claimed the title before and is in the same half of the draw as Elena Rybakina, Marketa Vondrousova and Maria Sakkari.

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Ons Jabeur has been forced to withdraw from the Dubai Tennis Championships, revealing that her knee injury has become too painful to compete with. 

Jabeur has been dealing with issues related to her right knee for a while, and the Tunisian underwent surgery on it last year that forced her to miss the Middle Eastern swing.

When playing in the Abu Dhabi Open quarter-finals this year, Jabeur broke down in tears against Beatriz Haddad Maia, to which she later revealed was due to her recurring knee troubles.

Despite this, Jabeur travelled to Doha for the Qatar Open, suffering a straight sets defeat to Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko.

And now the two-time Wimbledon finalist has confirmed her withdrawal from the WTA 1000 event in Dubai, “Dear friends and family, I wanted to share with you all that my knee is not holding, it’s been unbearable to play with the pain and not being able to give my best on the court is frustrating.

“After consultation of my doctors and team we have decided that I will have to withdraw from Dubai this week and go for more medical treatments. Looking forward to reconnect with all on the courts for the US swing. Thank you for your continuous support. Love you, Ons.”

Jabeur has since been replaced by lucky loser Cristina Bucsa, and the tournament has now released a statement of its own on the world No.6’s exit, “Regrettably Ons Jabeur has had to pull out of this year’s tournament. We know how much this event means to her, playing in front of a strong Arab support.

“We wish her all the best in her recovery from injury and look forward to seeing her back in Dubai very soon.”

Jabeur is next entered to compete at Indian Wells in California, which begins on Sunday 3rd March.

Inside the baseline…

Since the start of the season, it has been clear that Ons Jabeur has not been feeling right and this has shown in the Tunisian’s form, having won only two of her five matches. Jabeur should probably not have played the Middle East swing, but after missing it last year probably felt more pressure to at least try and give it a go. Hopefully Jabeur can use this time to recover, but it is quite concerning that surgery does not seem to have fixed the issue.

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There is another WTA 1000 event taking place this week in Dubai, as well as three ATP tournaments across Asia, North and South America.

And we, at Tennishead, have got all the information on how you can watch all the hard-hitting action:

How can you watch WTA Dubai?

Aryna Sabalenka is set to play her first tournament since retaining the Australian Open this week, as she looks to claim victory in Dubai fo the first time.

The Belarusian will be joined by world No.1 and Qatar Open champion Iga Swiatek, who will be looking to avenge her final defeat from the tournament last year.

While the event will be without last year’s champion Barbora Krejcikova, who withdrew from the tournament due to a back injury, there are still two former winners in Elina Svitolina and Jelena Ostapenko.

We are ready for a star-studded week of world-class action for the WTA 1000 event tomorrow!#DDFTennis @wta pic.twitter.com/V2Hhszl03Z

— Dubai Tennis Champs (@DDFTennis) February 17, 2024

You can watch the Dubai Tennis Championships on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland or on Tennis Channel in the United States of America.

For more information on how to watch the WTA 1000 tournament in your location, visit the official website here.

READ MORE – Dubai Tennis Championships 2024 Preview (WTA): When is it, who is playing and what is the prize money?

How can you watch ATP Rio de Janeiro?

Clay court action is set to continue in South America with the biggest event yet, as Carlos Alcaraz headlines the ATP 500 tournament in Rio de Janeiro.

Alcaraz won the title back in 2022, but was beaten in the final last year by Cameron Norrie, who is also returning.

Not only will Alcaraz be looking to bounce back from last year’s defeat, but also last night after he was beaten by Nicolas Jarry in the Buenos Aires semi-final.

Other former champions in the draw are Laslo Djere and Cristian Garin, who claimed victory at the tournament in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

You can watch the action in the Brazilian capital on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland or on Tennis TV worldwide.

For more information on how to watch the clay court action in your location, visit the official ATP website here.

How can you watch ATP Doha?

The first ATP tournament of the year in the Middle East has taken a bit of a knock, with defending champion Daniil Medvedev and Rafael Nadal withdrawing from the event in Doha.

I would have loved to play in Doha, where the tournament team, as well as the amazing Qatar fans have always supported me greatly. Unfortunately I am not ready to compete and I won’t be able to come to Doha where I really wanted to be and play again after that unforgettable win… pic.twitter.com/U4GUvIITcr

— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) February 14, 2024

However, the ATP 250 event still features eight top 30 ranked players, with 2020 champion Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov as the top two seeds.

Despite the defending champion not returning to Doha in 2024, last year’s runner-up and two-time champion Andy Murray will be looking to regain form after a rough spell of four consecutive defeats.

Two-time winner Roberto Bautista-Agut is also returning, with two French former champions in Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet receiving wildcards.

You can watch the action in Doha on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland or on Tennis TV worldwide. For more information on how to watch the tournament in your location, visit the official ATP website here.

How can you watch ATP Los Cabos?

The final main tour ATP event of the week takes place on the hardcourts of Los Cabos, Mexico, with Alexander Zverev as the top seed.

Defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas also returns to the high altitude event, as he looks to make an immediate comeback into the top 10 after falling out for the first time in five years.

Alex de Minaur, who was the runner-up in 2023, is set to feature in Los Cabos, but is playing in the Rotterdam final later today leaving his participation up in the air.

There is one other former champion in the draw in Diego Schwartzman, who will be hoping to recreate his success from 2019 after a spell of poor form.

You can watch the action in Los Cabos on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland or on Tennis TV worldwide.

For more information on how to watch the Mexican hard court tournament in your location, visit the official ATP website here.

READ NEXT: Diego Schwartzman admits ‘struggle’ after continued poor form

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Andy Murray has lost seven of his last eight matches, but the former No.1 still appears to have belief and revealed that he is ‘not going to stop’.

Murray has been on the wrong side of the result in his last four matches, with the most recent coming in the first round in Marseille to Tomas Machac.

And the 36-year-old has admitted that it is nothing like he has ever experienced before, “Tennis-wise it hasn’t been a great start to the year. I’ve never experienced a period like this as a professional. It’s been difficult, a new experience for me (which) is not the nicest, but good to experience new things and try and learn from them.

“When I do get myself out of it and start to feel better, hopefully I’ll be stronger for it, but it’s been hard. I’ve not been playing well and winning as many matches as I would like, so I’m hoping I can turn it around here.”

The three-time major winner was asked about whether he thought his recent drop in form was due to a physical or mental barrier, “It’s probably a combination of the two. Physically I’m not expecting to feel how I did when I was 20, so it’s hard when you get to your mid to late 30s to stay at the level required to beat the best players. Certainly, tennis-wise I know I can play a lot better than I have been.”

Murray also revealed that he has been practicing well, which is not something that the Brit has been used to, “I’ve never really experienced playing really well in practice and not being able to translate it to a match court before, it was always the opposite for me.

“I was never a great practice player, I didn’t use to win practice matches, exhibition matches, it’s been the complete opposite for me recently. I know there’s better tennis in me than I’m showing just now, but I’m hoping I can turn it around.”

Tarnishing my legacy? Do me a favour. I’m in a terrible moment right now I’ll give you that. Most people would quit and give up in my situation right now. But I’m not most people and my mind works differently. I won’t quit. I will keep fighting and working to produce the… https://t.co/nF0var6IfL

— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) January 30, 2024

Despite the recent drop in form, the world No.50 has hit back at critics who have suggested he should consider retiring, “When I was in my early 20’s, I would have mainly young fans that would come up to you and ask for autographs, now I get more older people, whose bodies are falling apart.

“They are kind of like ‘it’s great that you keep going it’s inspired me to get out and keep training’, so the demographic has changed a little bit.”

He added, “But it’s nice, I can do whatever I want. I don’t have to do what fans, journalists or anyone is telling me to do. Qualifying for all these tournaments on my right, on my ranking and all the matches that I’ve won, I want to keep playing just now, so I’m not going to stop.”

"I'm not going to stop!" ????

Andy Murray says he has more good Tennis inside of him ???? pic.twitter.com/sN5PJekMtW

— Sky Sports Tennis (@SkySportsTennis) February 17, 2024

Murray will look to return to form at the Qatar Open in Doha next week, where he is defending runner-up points from last year, with the former two-time champion beginning his campaign against a qualifier.

Inside the baseline…

Andy Murray has never been one to hold back on his opinions, which has been clear in recent weeks with his defiance against those trying to end his career for him. Hopefully Murray can have a deep run in Doha to stop the run of defeats, which has been helped by a promising draw against a qualifier, but that is no guarantee.

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Carlos Alcaraz has been unable to defend his title in Buenos Aires, after suffering a straight sets defeat in the semi-final to Nicolas Jarry.

Alcaraz claimed the title in the Argentine capital last year, but his run was ended by the Chilean last night in a 7-6(2) 6-3 defeat.

This is only the third time since the start of 2023 that Alcaraz has been beaten by a player ranked outside the top 20, with Jarry currently at No.21.

The Wimbledon champion gave a very honest reflection after the match, “It has been a difficult defeat for me, it has hurt me a lot. There are many things to improve. The level has to rise, I have played good tennis but far from my real level.

“I have prepared well, physically I feel good. But this type of defeat hurt, you have to know how to read the games better and from there move forward, there is no other option.”

Alcaraz has not reached an ATP final since the Cincinnati Masters last year, and spoke about the complications of beginning his clay court season.

“It has been a complicated tournament,” said Alcaraz. “It is the first tournament on clay in a long time and even if I felt good at the tennis level, I have played against quite uncomfortable players.

“With Jarry, it was difficult to enter the match. I have had many opportunities that I didn’t take. And when you waste them against players like Jarry it takes its toll on you. It’s been a complicated week but I took away many things to improve.”

Enhorabuena a Nico por el partido y suerte en la final! ???????? Gracias ???????? por el cariño de esta semana! ????????????????????

???? Getty pic.twitter.com/94ENFeumH2

— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) February 18, 2024

Alcaraz will continue his clay court preparations in South America next week in Rio de Janeiro, where he was the champion back in 2022 and runner-up to Cameron Norrie last year.

The 20-year-old will begin his campaign against home wildcard Thiago Monteiro, with their head-to-head currently set at one win apiece.

Inside the baseline…

Not only is a defeat for Carlos Alcaraz surprising as a whole, but even more so considering the fact that it was in straight sets. However, Nicolas Jarry is a very good player and has made some fantastic progress over the past year, so it should not be an immediate concern for Alcaraz. However, if he does not reach the final in the Brazilian capital then alarm bells might start to ring, as on paper Alcaraz is by far the best player in that field.

READ NEXT: Iga Swiatek ‘really proud’ after claiming third consecutive title in Doha

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Iga Swiatek has become the first woman in history to win the Qatar Open title three times, and the world No.1 has revealed how ‘proud’ she is of herself for this achievement.

Swiatek played Abu Dhabi champion Elena Rybakina in the final, who had beaten the Pole in three of their four previous meetings.

And it was the Kazakhstani who got off to the better start, going up 4-1 in the first set with a double break.

However, Swiatek showed her fighting capabilities and claimed the opener in a tie-break, despite Rybakina having a set point.

And the four-time Grand Slam champion gave credit to her coach, Tomasz Wiktorowski, for this, “I was just making too many mistakes and I was kind of panicking at the beginning not knowing what I should change.

“But the coach really had a nice idea and I just kind of trusted him and stuck to his idea and his words. I wasn’t really thinking much myself because it was hard for me to analyse perfectly. So I just trusted him and it worked.”

Swiatek continued this momentum to beat the 2022 Wimbledon champion, 7-6(8) 6-2, becoming the first woman to win a WTA title three years in a row since Serena Williams at the Miami Open in 2015.

The 22-year-old revealed how much this achievement played on her mind prior to the match, “You don’t even know how hard it was not to think about it. I came here and I was just pretty stressed because of that because I felt the expectations.

“But I wanted to just do everything step by step as I always do and again it worked. So thank you to my team also for keeping me on the ground and focusing on the right stuff, because achieving that is great. I’m really happy and really proud of myself.”

Swiatek is the youngest woman to win seven WTA 1000 titles prior to turning 23, and will bid for an eighth next week with a tight turnaround for the event in Dubai.

As the top seed, Swiatek receives a bye to the second round, where she will play the winner of Sloane Stephens and Clara Burel.

So so happy! ????
Thank you Team ????????#TeamSwiatek pic.twitter.com/HKZ8ehxFbs

— Iga Świątek (@iga_swiatek) February 17, 2024

Inside the baseline…

Iga Swiatek continues to just showcase her dominance in Doha, where the slow hard courts really seem to suit her game that has been so impressive on clay in recent years. Swiatek did not drop a set all week, which is even more impressive considering her disappointing performance at the Australian Open where she faced an early exit to Linda Noskova in the third round.

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The Middle Eastern swing is set to reach a climax next week, with the second WTA 1000 event of the year taking place at the Dubai Tennis Championships.

And we, at Tennishead, have got everything you need to know ahead of the stacked tournament:

When is the Dubai Tennis Championships 2024?

The Dubai Tennis Championships main draw will begin on Sunday 18th February, finishing with the singles and doubles finals on Saturday 24th February.

On most days play will begin at 11am local time (7am GMT), with night sessions kicking off at the later time of 7pm in Dubai (3pm GMT).

Qualifying is currently underway and will be concluded on Saturday 17th February.

Where are the Dubai Tennis Championships held?

The WTA tournament is held once again at the Aviation Club Tennis Centre, which has hosted the event since its first edition in 2001.

There are multiple courts on this complex, headlined by Centre Court which can hold a maximum of 5,000 people.

Game. Set. Love. ????#DDFTennis @wta @atptour pic.twitter.com/Q8Kc52dgnp

— Dubai Tennis Champs (@DDFTennis) February 14, 2024

Who is playing at the Dubai Tennis Championships 2024?

As mentioned, the WTA 1000 event in the United Arab Emirates has a stacked field, featuring eight of the top 10 players including both Iga Swiatek and Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka.

World No.1 Swiatek will have a quick turnaround after playing in the Doha final, whereas Sabalenka is coming in fresh from her title defence in Melbourne.

Only 2 days to go!????

The sensational Aryna Sabalenka, reigning @AustralianOpen champion is back in Dubai!????#DDFTennis @WTA pic.twitter.com/YnwgSVPO1T

— Dubai Tennis Champs (@DDFTennis) February 16, 2024

Other top seeds in Dubai are Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina, Ons Jabeur, Qinwen Zheng, Marketa Vondrousova and Maria Sakkari.

Defending champion Barbora Krejcikova has withdrawn from the tournament due to a back injury, but the event will still feature two past winners in Elina Svitolina and Jelena Ostapenko.

Main draw wildcards have been awarded to the returning Shuai Zhang, Australian Open semi-finalist Dayana Yastremska, Ashlyn Krueger and Lulu Sun.

Main draw at Dubai (WTA 1000), where Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, and Elena Rybakina are the top seeds.

Sabalenka set to play her 1st tournament since Melbourne. #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/IMI9Drbx8g

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) February 17, 2024

How many ranking points are on offer at the Dubai Tennis Championships 2024?

It is another great opportunity for players to gain big ranking points this year, with Aryna Sabalenka trying to close down the gap on world No.1 Iga Swiatek.

Here is the full breakdown of ranking points in Dubai:

What is the prize money for the Dubai Tennis Championships 2024?

Like in Doha, the total amount of prize money on offer in Dubai is $3,211,715, and here is a breakdown of that for both singles and doubles tournaments:

Previous winners of the Dubai Tennis Championships

Over the past 10 years, the women’s event in Dubai has alternated between a WTA 500 and WTA 1000, however this year they have broken that trend and it has remained as the latter.

In last year’s final, the aforementioned Barbora Krejcikova stunned top seed Iga Swiatek to win her first title at this level.

The most successful singles player at the event is the now retired Justine Henin, who claimed victory four times at the tournament.

Here are the past 10 singles and doubles champions at the event in Dubai:

How can you watch the Dubai Tennis Championships?

You can watch the Dubai Tennis Championships on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland or on Tennis Channel in the United States of America.

For more information on how to watch the WTA 1000 tournament in your location, visit the official website here.

READ NEXT – Rafael Nadal: ‘Carlos Alcaraz is better than I was at his age’

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Carlos Alcaraz has been heaped with praise by Daniil Medvedev, who has described the first time that he realised how talented the Spaniard is.

Alcaraz became the youngest world No.1 in history after winning the 2022 US Open, and Medvedev suggested that the 20-year-old has been a product of his own downfall in terms of critics.

“He started off crazy, at his age,” Medvedev exclusively told Eurosport. “Youngest world No. 1 in history, that says it all.

“That’s why right now when he is losing maybe just a bit more matches than before, you see people starting to say ‘oh maybe he lost his confidence a little bit’.”

The Russian added, “He’s still 20 years old, very young, so it’s normal that sometimes in his career he’s going to have some ups and downs. But the talent that he has is pretty unbelievable. We knew straight away when he came on tour.”

I'm lost for words at right now! ???? I just want to keep dreaming!

???? Getty Images pic.twitter.com/IyQXjvgamY

— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) September 12, 2022

Medvedev went onto talk about the first time that he was made aware of Alcaraz, when the now two-time major winner was training with world No.5 Andrey Rublev.

“I remember he was somewhere close to the top 100, and he was hitting with Rublev,” said Medvedev. “Andrey is one of the hardest hitters in tennis, and at the time I think Carlos was 17. And I was looking and I was like ‘wow, he hits stronger than Andrey’. This guy has good potential.”

Medvedev continued, “So it’s going to be interesting to see how he copes with all the things that come with playing good at tennis, a lot of sponsors, a lot of interest, stuff like this.

“Some guys are easy with it, some guys have pressure and handle it differently. I think he’s still young to make any conclusions, so let’s see how he goes later.”

Medvedev has withdrawn from playing in Doha next week, and is set to return to defend his title in Dubai, whereas Alcaraz will continue to focus on the South American clay court swing in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro.

Vamos! ???????? https://t.co/WZ7Sdomm1p

— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) February 16, 2024

Inside the baseline…

Daniil Medvedev makes some really good points about Carlos Alcaraz, who is having a relatively mediocre patch in his incredible career so far. At the end of the day Alcaraz is only human and it is not always going to be plain-sailing for him, and the Spaniard has still achieved his best ever Australian Open performance this year.

READ NEXT – Carlos Alcaraz: Regaining world number one is my goal this season

Carlos Alcaraz vs Daniil Medvedev head-to-head

Alcaraz and Medvedev have played a total of five times, with four of those meetings coming last year:

Alcaraz vs Medvedev: 3-2

1. Medvedev beat Alcaraz, 6-4 6-1 6-2 (Wimbledon 2021, Second Round)
2. Alcaraz beat Medvedev, 6-3 6-2 (Indian Wells 2023, Final)
3. Alcaraz beat Medvedev, 6-3 6-3 6-3 (Wimbledon 2023, Semi-final)
4. Medvedev beat Alcaraz, 7-6(3) 6-1 3-6 6-3 (US Open 2023, Semi-final)
5. Alcaraz beat Medvedev, 6-4 6-4 (ATP Finals 2023, Round-Robin)

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