Qatar Open 2024 Preview: When is it, who is playing and what is the prize money?
The first WTA 1000 event of the year is fastly approaching in the form of the Qatar Open, featuring seven of the top 10 players in the world.
And we, at Tennishead, have got everything you need to know ahead of the 22nd edition of the tournament in the Middle East:
When is the Qatar Open 2024?
The main draw of the Qatar Open will begin on Sunday 11th February, concluding on Saturday 17th February with both the singles and doubles finals.
On most days play will begin at 12:30pm local time (9:30am GMT), with the singles final beginning at the later time of 6pm in Doha (3pm GMT).
Qualifying is currently underway and will be completed tomorrow (Saturday 10th February).
Where is the Qatar Open held?
The outdoor hard court tournament is once again being hosted at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in the capital of Qatar, Doha.
There are a total of 24 courts on the complex, four of those matchcourts, with Centre Court able to hold a maximum of 7,000 spectators.
Who is playing at the Qatar Open 2024?
The tournament is headlined by world No.1 and two-time champion Iga Swiatek, who will be looking to bounce back in her first match since suffering a shock early defeat at the Australian Open.
???? I'm so happy of all work we put in as a team. I will definitely enjoy and appreciate this moment because for me it means more than it seems. Thank you team for having my back.#persistent pic.twitter.com/X1gcuXJ26F
— Iga Świątek (@iga_swiatek) February 18, 2023
Swiatek is joined by fellow top 10 players Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina, Ons Jabeur, Qinwen Zheng, Marketa Vondrousova and Maria Sakkari.
All of the top eight seeds receive automatic byes to the second round, with the inform Jelena Ostapenko the final of those.
Australian Open champion and world No.2 Aryna Sabalenka has elected to skip this event, but is expected to return to action in Dubai the following week.
Alongside Swiatek, other former Qatar Open champions in the draw are Victoria Azarenka, Karolina Pliskova and Elise Mertens.
There are many eye-catching matches from the first round draw, with perhaps the standout being between Naomi Osaka and Caroline Garcia, in a rematch from the Australian Open.
Main draw in Doha (WTA 1000), where Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff are the top seeds.
1R: Naomi Osaka vs. Caroline Garcia pic.twitter.com/F7Z29KcNTq
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) February 9, 2024
Wildcards have been awarded to 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, former world No.2 Paula Badosa, Anna Kalinskaya and Zeynep Sonmez.
How many ranking points are on offer at the Qatar Open 2024?
With it being the first WTA 1000 event of the year, it is a big opportunity for players to build their rankings, which is very important this year with the Paris Olympics in sight.
Here is the breakdown of the ranking points on offer:
| 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 Qatar Open 2024?
The full prize pot for the tournament is $3,211,715, and here is the breakdown of that for singles:
| Event | W | F | SF | QF | Round of 16 | Round of 32 | Round of 64 |
| Singles | $523,485 | $308,320 | $158,944 | $72,965 | $36,454 | $20,650 | $14,800 |
Previous winners of the Qatar Open
Over the past 10 years, the Qatar Open has alternated between a WTA 500 and 1000 event, with it being the higher of those in 2024.
Last year, Iga Swiatek defended the title in dominant fashion after beating Jessica Pegula in the final, dropping only five games throughout the entire tournament.
Here are the past 10 singles and doubles champions in Doha:
| Year | Singles Champion | Doubles Champions |
| 2014 (WTA 1000) | Simona Halep | Hsieh Su-wei & Peng Shuai |
| 2015 (WTA 500) | Lucie Safarova | Raquel Kops-Jones & Abigail Spears |
| 2016 (WTA 1000) | Carla Suarez Navarro | Chao Hao-ching & Chan Yung-jan |
| 2017 (WTA 500) | Karolina Pliskova | Abigail Spears (2) & Katarina Srebotnik (2) |
| 2018 (WTA 1000) | Petra Kvitova | Gabriela Dabrowski & Jelena Ostapenko |
| 2019 (WTA 500) | Elise Mertens | Chao Hao-ching (2) & Latisha Chan |
| 2020 (WTA 1000) | Aryna Sabalenka | Hsieh Su-wei (2) & Barbora Strycova |
| 2021 (WTA 500) | Petra Kvitova (2) | Nicole Melichar-Martinez & Demi Schuurs |
| 2022 (WTA 1000) | Iga Swiatek | Coco Gauff & Jessica Pegula |
| 2023 (WTA 500) | Iga Swiatek (2) | Coco Gauff (2) & Jessica Pegula (2) |
How can you watch the Qatar Open 2024?
You can watch the Qatar Open 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 first WTA 1000 tournament of the year in your location, visit the official website here.
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