Dubai Tennis Championships 2024 Preview (WTA): When is it, who is playing and what is the prize money?
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Defending champion Barbora Krejcikova has withdrawn from the tournament due to a back injury, but the event will still feature two past winners in Elina Svitolina and Jelena Ostapenko.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:
| Event | W | F | SF | QF | Round of 16 | Round of 32 | Round of 64 | Q | Q2 | Q1 |
| Singles | 1000 | 650 | 390 | 215 | 120 | 65 | 10 | 30 | 20 | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doubles | 10 | — | — | — | — |
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:
| Event | W | F | SF | QF | Round of 16 | Round of 32 | Round of 64 | Q2 | Q1 |
| Singles | $523,485 | $308,320 | $158,944 | $72,965 | $36,454 | $20,650 | $14,800 | $8,800 | $4,610 |
| Doubles | $154,160 | $86,710 | $46,570 | $24,090 | $13,650 | $9,100 | – | – | – |
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:
| Year | Singles Champion | Doubles Champions |
| 2014 (WTA 500) | Venus Williams | Raquel Kops-Jones & Abigail Spears |
| 2015 (WTA 1000) | Simona Halep | Garbiñe Muguruza & Carla Suárez Navarro |
| 2016 (WTA 500) | Sara Errani | Caroline Garcia & Kristina Mladenovic |
| 2017 (WTA 1000) | Elina Svitolina | Andrea Hlavackova & Peng Shuai |
| 2018 (WTA 500) | Elina Svitolina (2) | Hsieh Su-wei & Peng Shuai (2) |
| 2019 (WTA 1000) | Belinda Bencic | Lucie Hradecka & Ekaterina Makarova |
| 2020 (WTA 500) | Simona Halep (2) | Barbora Krejcikova & Zheng Saisai |
| 2021 (WTA 1000) | Garbiñe Muguruza | Xu Yifan & Yang Zhaoxuan |
| 2022 (WTA 500) | Jelena Ostapenko | Jelena Ostapenko & Lyudmyla Kichenok |
| 2023 (WTA 1000) | Barbora Krejcikova | Chao Hao-ching & Latisha Chan |
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.
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