How to watch WTA Abu Dhabi Open live on TV or stream in the UK, USA or Australia featuring Rybakina, Bencic and Mboko
WTATuesday, 27 January 2026 at 19:30
The Middle Eastern swing begins with the WTA 500 Abu Dhabi Open, which gets underway immediately after the conclusion of the Australian Open. The tournament, played on hard courts with a 28-player singles draw, will contest its fifth edition, after replacing the former St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
So far, the event has been one that has brought together an important part of the WTA’s top names every year. The defending champion is Belinda Bencic, who will join the draw in search of her third title, and she appears as one of the main favourites alongside the 2024 champion Elena Rybakina.
The draw will feature 10 players ranked inside the top 25, along with several other high-profile names from the Tour, in an event that will serve as preparation for the first WTA 1000 tournaments of the season, the Qatar Open and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Joining the draw will be world No. 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova, the 19-year-old teenager Victoria Mboko, and Denmark’s Clara Tauson, among the best-positioned players and seeded contenders at the tournament.
There will also be several luxury names despite lower rankings: two-time Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova and 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova. Both Czech players are looking to add ranking points and regain confidence after physical problems that have prevented them from competing regularly, leaving them off the Tour for long periods during 2025 — and even into this year.
Also included among the standout names are 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, former US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez, and former world No. 2 Paula Badosa.
Abu Dhabi will also feature a special comeback: Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen returns to competition — this time ranked just No. 26 — after a long absence from the courts. Since June 2025, following her elimination at Wimbledon, she managed to play only one tournament in the second half of the season, retiring due to injury in the second round of the China Open. This year, she was forced to skip the Australian Open and postpone her return, as she was not yet at 100% physically.
TV Guide Aub Dhabi Open
| Region | Territory | Channel |
| Australasia | Australia | Nine, Stan Sport |
| Australasia | New Zealand | Sky NZ |
| Americas | Anguilla, Antigua-and-Barbuda, Aruba, Bermuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Kitts-and-Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent-and-the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad-and-Tobago, Turks and Caicos | ESPN International |
| Americas | Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Francesca, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Surinam, Venezuela, Uruguay | ESPN Latin America |
| Americas | Brazil | ESPN Latin America |
| Americas | Canada | TSN, RDS |
| Americas | USA | ESPN, Tennis Channel |
| Europe | Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Vatican. | TNT Sports, Discovery+ |
| Europe | Switzerland | SRG SSR |
| Central Asia | Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan. | Eurosport |
| Central Asia | Afghanistan | Sony Sports |
| Asia | China | GDTV, iQiYi, YouKu |
| Asia | India | Sony Sports |
| Asia | Japan | WOWOW |
| Asia | Taiwan | Sportcast |
| Africa | Algeria, Djibouti, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan | BelnSports |
| Africa | Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo (Republic of), Côte d'Ivoire, DR Congo Eritrea, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali Mayotte, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé & Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Cape Verde, Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion, Socotra, St. Helena and Ascension, Seychelles | SuperSport |
| Pacific Islands | Cook Islands, Fiji, Nauru, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis & Futuna, Samoa, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Niue | Digicel |
| In-Flight & In-Ship | Global | Sport24 |
claps 0visitors 0
Just In
Popular News
Latest Comments
- That is what is called an Old School spanking. And it is not surprising. Svitolina played during the time when women tennis was at its best. She was considered a dark horse, who gave Serena and many of the other good players problems at that time. Gauff knew that she had to play tennis before she came out there, because Svitolina was not going to hit all those unforced errors and hand her the match, like her previous opponents. Back in the day, not only did you have to know how to play tennis, but you also had to THINK on the court. Something that has left women tennis altogether. That is why she was hitting the majority of those balls away from Gauff, because she knew that she could not out rally her. Which confused Gauff and broke her down.
- SVITOLINA GAVE HER AN OLD SCHOOL SPANKING. SHE DIDN'T GET OUT THERE AND LOOK LIKE GAUFF PREVIOUS OPPONENTS AND HAND HER THE MATCH WITH LOADS OF UNFORCED ERRORS, WHICH IS THE ONLY WAY GAUFF EVER WIN A MATCH. SVITOLINA DID NOT PLAY THAT ONE DIMENSIONAL CRAP TENNIS THAT THE NEW GENERATION IS USED TO. YOU CANNOT RALLY GAUFF, SO SHE HIT THE BALL AWAY FROM HER AND MAINTAINED HER SERVE. IT IS CALLED STRATEGY AND THINKING ON COURT. SOMETHING THAT HAS LEFT WOMEN TENNIS ALTOGETHER. EVEN GAUFF NEW TATIC OF LEAVING THE COURT AFTER LOSING THE FIRST SET, DID NOT WORK. AFTER THE MATCH SHE WENT TO THE BACK BEAT HER RACKET UP AND CRIED AS USUAL AFTER A LOSS. AT LEAST SOMEONE HAS TAUGHT HER TO DO HER MELTDOWNS BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. THE CAMERA JUST HAPPENS TO CATCH HER OUTBURST THIS TIME.
- AT LEAST SOMEONE HAS TAUGHT HER TO DO HER SORE LOSING MELTDOWNS BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. THE CAMERA JUST HAPPENS TO CATCH HER OUTBURST THIS TIME.
- Haven't seen such a dreadful display of two-way tennis in quite some time.
- No recreational drug tests??
- You are so confused lately.
- Vukov's actions were ever "resolved". He peppered WTA, etc with countless monthly letters for reinstatement. Someone or some thing flipped a switch and Vukov was miraculously given a Free Pass to re-enter the circuit. Elena and he are currently (quietly) on their own personal Vendetta Tour. So... given the weak-knee'd tennis authorities... this new situation with Stearns' coach is going nowhere.
- No one bothered to close the roof on any of Sabalenka's matches. She is the number one player, yet she was made to play in the scorching sun. The corrupt American back WTA tried to drain her and tire her out, but it did not work. Which means that as usual, they want a certain player to lift that trophy. And from the look of the draws, it is either Anisimova or Pegula.
- When is the WTA going to hand down the punishment to the American athletes and organizations like they did the Russians and Belarusians. The corruption, bias and racism is showing its ugly head WTA.
- Lately you post newbie-quality stuff (and politics). Do better.
Loading