Preview WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2026 Semifinals | Anisimova clashes with Pegula, Gauff seeks revenge against Svitolina in two Aussie Open rematches
WTAFriday, 20 February 2026 at 02:30
The second WTA 1000 of the season now reaches its semifinals, with the matchups at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. This Friday the finalists will be decided in the last tournament of the Middle East swing, which is seeking a new champion following the elimination of Mirra Andreeva – and all the remaining contenders are top-10 players.
They will be special semifinals, with the presence of the top-3 Americans: Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova and Jessica Pegula, all fulfilling their responsibility in the draw to advance rounds and place themselves among the final four. The only non-American is the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina – who has the most WTA 1000 titles among them (four), and is also the only former champion in Dubai.
Pegula holds 4-0 edge over Anisimova: Can Dubai flip the script
Second seed Amanda Anisimova arrived in Dubai recovering from an unexpected early exit at the Qatar Open – where she was the defending champion but had to retire due to physical discomfort in the middle of her first-round match. However, there are no concerns regarding the level of the world No. 4, who this week benefited from the retirement of Barbora Krejcikova in her debut and then consecutively defeated Janice Tjen (6-1, 6-3) and defending champion Mirra Andreeva (2-6, 7-5, 7-6).
Anisimova reaches the semifinals having played only two full matches – although the battle against Andreeva made clear that she does not need more competitive rhythm to show a high level. The two-time WTA 1000 champion seeks her fourth final in the category, although she will have a tough rival in Pegula (fourth seed), who precisely ended her dreams a few weeks ago at the Australian Open.
Pegula continues to be a guarantee of consistency and this week once again has made headlines. After her debut against Varvara Gracheva (6-4, 6-0), she gave a lesson to teenager Iva Jovic (6-4, 6-2) and later eliminated the 2025 runner-up Clara Tauson in a tight three-set battle (6-3, 2-6, 6-4). Pegula’s experience places her as one of the rivals most capable of complicating things for Anisimova.
The 32-year-old is among those who best know how to deal with big hitters (such as Anisimova, Aryna Sabalenka or Elena Rybakina) and in her previous tournament - Aussie Open - she precisely defeated Anisimova in the quarterfinals (6-2, 7-6).
At the moment the head-to-head is favorable to Pegula by a commanding 4-0, including the final of the Canadian Open 2024 – the first WTA 1000 final in Anisimova’s career – and this year in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. The winner will have interesting implications, as she will secure a guaranteed place in the top-5 (the loser will be No. 6), in addition to remaining – for now – as American No. 2, only behind Coco Gauff – who, regardless of what happens, will continue to be the leader after the end of the tournament.
From Melbourne revenge to Dubai stakes: Gauff meets Svitolina again
Precisely Coco Gauff (third seed) will be the third American who remains in the competition and who seeks a new WTA 1000 final (she currently has seven finals in the category, winning three titles). The two-time Grand Slam champion defeated Anna Kalinskaya (6-4, 6-4) in her debut, then saved three match points this week against Elise Mertens (2-6, 7-6, 6-3), and in the quarterfinals swept Alexandra Eala (6-0, 6-2).
Double faults continue to be a problem for Gauff – with a total of 36 in just the three matches she has played. While the victory over Eala is revitalizing in terms of confidence – showing that she is one step ahead of her rival’s level – against an experienced player like Svitolina (No. 9), service problems could weigh much more heavily, especially with the final around the corner and an opponent who will not be intimidated by the semifinal stage nor by facing Gauff.
And Svitolina once again showed this week that she fully deserves her place in the top-10. In her debut she defeated Paula Badosa – who retired due to injury after only one set was played – then came from a set down to beat Belinda Bencic, while in the quarterfinals she once again had to work to come back from a set down against Antonia Ruzic.
At 31 years old, Svitolina continues to show that resilience is one of her strengths, with the ability to come out of adverse moments and raise her level in pressure points. Against a rival who has been erratic on serve, opportunities will come for Svitolina, who appears to have good chances of advancing if she keeps a cool head in the important moments.
They have already faced each other four times – with a 2-2 head-to-head and the most recent one in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. On that occasion, Svitolina took revenge for her previous two consecutive defeats against Gauff and earned an emphatic 6-1, 6-2 victory to reach the semifinals.
The Ukrainian exposed Gauff’s weaknesses, constantly attacking Gauff’s second serves, positioning herself close to the baseline to take the ball early and always trying to put the ball in play – which consistently led to unforced errors from the American. Svitolina cannot be ruled out as a contender on this occasion, considering that she is a champion of four WTA 1000 titles, including Dubai 2017.
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- It's sad... but Rybakina is not going to be able to endure her groomer's interference in Life and still excel to her best level.
- You seem to have 'lost the plot' ??
- This needs to be done, and I think Jessica Pegula is an excellent choice for chair to look into the situation. However, a very brief look at the other members of the panel would suggest a very USA heavy contingent. The group needs to represent all interests, not just turn it into a way the US can screw more money out of an already biased calendar.
- The tennis world should be kissing her feet for taking-on this long needed position in a much needed council. The WTA and ATP need a good shaking-up. Pegula's business heritage is a proven one. Let's hope she and her colleagues can stop WTA & ATP from shutting their work down and out. GO GET 'EM !!
- So the Sportswasher's largest market is... the Filipino community? That's all well and good but the hundreds and hundreds of empty seats throughout is embarrassing. Talk about bad optics!
- The poor Head Sportswasher has been whining and crying in the media, and basically threatening Saba, Iga, etc. Must be a real Ego Buster when they dangle money and people (especially Women) say, 'No thanks'.
- "Losing-itis" is not uncommon in Emma's small world. Just keeps begging the question, 'What are sponsors paying for? Limited tennis appearances... or Social Selfie Media presence?'
- Dubai can suck it up like everyone else. Just because they think they run the show, they do not. Sportswashing does not give them Power.
- You're losing your mind here.. You use a lot of space, yet inadequate knowledge. Read the WTA Rule Book 2026; it answers all your questions and accusations.
- Why single out Iga and Aryna to punish?, Since when do players get punish because they withdraw from tournaments? Maybe if they both were treated like number one and two players, they would not have this problem. The WTA discriminates against them because of their nationalities, yet they want to make money off them. Every tournament, Iga has harder draws than qualifiers from the beginning to the end. In the Australian Open they stuck Aryna out in the sun the majority of her matches in order to tire her out. She is the number one player in the world and she never got the opportunity to play with the roof closed. If they want these top players to continue playing and making money for them, then they should treat them as such. Otherwise, get the players who they are always giving out cupcake draws to like Pegula to play their tournaments. Lets see how many seats in the audience she will fill. Iga has more fans in the seats than any player in the WTA, yet she is always disrespected and mistreated because of her nationality. The WTA is a corrupt, bias and racist organization. No matter what job someone is on, you cannot tell them that they are not sick or injured.
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