Victoria Mboko’s withdrawal from the WTA 500 Abu Dhabi Open has been confirmed. The tournament is set to begin this Monday, February 2, with its main draw. The Canadian had been entered as the tournament’s third seed, but she opted for a last-minute change of plans, skipping the event and traveling directly to Doha to prepare for the first WTA 1000 of the season.

The absence of Mboko will not be the only one lamented at the first Middle East WTA 500, as former Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen will also not be in the tournament. The former world No. 4 had been expecting to return to the courts after three months—having played only one match in the last seven months—but she ultimately postponed her comeback by another week.

Mboko comes off a strong campaign at the Australian Open, reaching the fourth round—her best performance in a Grand Slam so far. She began the season with seven wins in her first eight matches, after reaching the final of the Adelaide International, where she fell to Mirra Andreeva.

The 19-year-old then achieved her breakthrough at the Australian Open by reaching the second week of a major for the first time. She fell in straight sets to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who went on to finish as the tournament’s runner-up. Mboko was expected to arrive in Abu Dhabi this week as one of the main contenders, but the teenager ultimately made a change of plans.

The Abu Dhabi Open features defending champion Belinda Bencic, who will be the tournament’s first seed. She will be joined by a total of seven players from the top 25, including stars such as Ekaterina Alexandrova (No. 11), Clara Tauson (No. 16), Emma Navarro (No. 17), and Liudmila Samsonova (No. 18).

Following her pullout from Abu Dhabi, Mboko’s next challenge on the calendar is the first WTA 1000 of the season at the Qatar Open in Doha. One week later, she will travel to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, the second WTA 1000 of the season, where Mboko will also make her debut.

The Canadian has climbed several positions in the rankings following her campaign in Melbourne. In the upcoming ranking update, she will rise to No. 13, again breaking her career-high ranking. Mboko is moving rapidly toward the top 10, and with no points to defend in the coming weeks, she has a strong chance during the Middle East swing to claim a spot among the world’s top 10—but she will need deep runs in at least one of the tournaments.

Mboko’s withdrawal is not the only one affecting the Abu Dhabi Open. Gold medalist at Paris 2024, Zheng Qinwen, was also not included in the main draw. Her presence had been expected, as she was listed on the tournament entry list, but she ultimately was excluded from the main draw, with no confirmed reason for her absence or injury. The 23-year-old arrived in Abu Dhabi and even trained this week, but will not be part of the tournament.

The Chinese player—currently world No. 26—has been away from competition for months. Her last tournament was the China Open 2025 in October, where she won her first-round match but was eliminated in her second after retiring mid-match against Londa Noskova.

Zheng has stayed away from competition since the second half of 2025. After participating in Wimbledon—where she was eliminated in the first round—Zheng announced she would undergo surgery to recover from an injury that had been troubling her for months. She returned three months later at the China Open but was eliminated due to a relapse of the injury.

Zheng had announced earlier in the season her intention to return at the Australian Open, but she ultimately had to withdraw from the tournament, where she was the 2024 runner-up. The former world No. 4 remains listed in the Qatar entry list, and her potential return is expected within a week.