2021 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Draw with Svitolina, Kvitova, Pliskova

2021 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is the first WTA 1000 event of the season, gathering a rock-solid field in the quest for a notable title and 900 WTA points.

Ashleigh Barty, Simona Halep, Sofia Kenin and Bianca Andreescu had to skip Dubai, and the draw is still very strong, with all 16 seeds ranked in the top-25. The two-time champion Elina Svitolina is the top seed, leading the top quarter with the 2019 champion Belinda Bencic, Maria Sakkari and Madison Keys.

Svitolina plays against Qiang Wang or Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round before a possible third-round Sakkari clash.

The 2013 Petra Kvitova and Kiki Bertens are the top-ranked players in the second quarter, challenged by Marketa Vondrousova, Elena Rybakina, Ekaterina Alexandrova, Ons Jabeur and Katerina Siniakova. The Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka are the players to beat in the third quarter, together with Garbine Muguruza, Anett Kontaveit, Daria Kasatkina and Amanda Anisimova.

Victoria Azarenka had to withdraw before the Doha semi-final due to back issues. She will try to make a fresh start in Dubai as the 7th seed, leading the bottom quarter with the 2015 finalist Karolina Pliskova. Elise Mertens and Petra Martic are also in contention, together with Kristina Mladenovic, Angelique Kerber and Caroline Garcia.