
Defending champion Belinda Bencic kicks off her campaign in Dubai on Tuesday, as she faces Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in first round action.
The World No.4 leads 4-1 in career meetings, although she lost her only outdoor hard court match against the Russian at Washington in 2015. Bencic will be looking to successfully defend a WTA title for the first time in her career.
Elina Svitolina takes a 1-0 career lead against American Jennifer Brady. Having triumphed here twice in 2017 and 2018, Svitolina will be looking to reclaim her title.
Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin faces in-form Elena Rybakina in the first round. This will be Kenin's first WTA match since winning her first Major title in Australia, although she did participate in the Fed Cup qualifiers two weeks ago. Conversely, Rybakina is coming off a runner-up performance in St. Petersburg and has been playing some incredible tennis this season.
Greece's Maria Sakkari takes on Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in what should be a hard-hitting match, while eighth seed Petra Martic battles 2019 semifinalist Hsieh Su-Wei. Hsieh has yet to win a match in 2020, but leads Martic 2-1 in career meetings so perhaps she will finally break through in Dubai.
In a clash between two Czech qualifiers, Karolina Muchova takes on Katerina Siniakova. France's Kristina Mladenovic also faces Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich in another qualifier battle.
Russian Veronika Kudermetova takes on Ukrainian youngster Dayana Yastremska, while Romanian qualifier Sorana Cirstea faces Australian Open quarterfinalist Anett Kontaveit.
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
claps 0visitors 0
Just In
Popular News
Latest Comments
- Vacherot is Mongasque, rather than Swiss. The tournament was Swiss :DTrwd7702-11-2026
- After a couple decades traveling to IIHF tourneys overseas... our family is done with it... and I will not be the only one!! Bad enough the NHL allows Ovachenko (a Putin Supporter and Campaigner) to live and play in the USA. Let's not forget the STATE SPONSORED RUSSIAN DOPING PROGRAMS still in effect today.
mandoist31-10-2026 - Osaka's mental state apparently does not allow her to reach any more Quarter Finals? I mean, she doesn't really have the time for tennis with all the pre-planning that must go into her 12 year-old "fashion" goals.
mandoist29-10-2026 - With her money one would think she could afford a better team of Psychiatrists?
mandoist29-10-2026 - Boss move, Sinner !Rapunzel27-10-2026
- Apparently still refusing to seek 'help' ...and still playing Dress-Up like a 10 year-old.
mandoist27-10-2026 - Lena... Takin' care of business
mandoist25-10-2026 - Can you please stop publishing this nonsense? Stick to Tennis.
mandoist25-10-2026 - Does Sinner need that 4.5 mil? I doubt it. He can make that with three modelling gigs!😅🤣Rapunzel21-10-2026
- Did "People Magazine" purchase this website? This nonstop storyline is bullshit.
mandoist21-10-2026






