Withdrawals galore in Dubai: Mboko and Muchova pull out of Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after Qatar final while Cocciaretto, Sakkari and Zheng follow in suit

There has been a number of late changes to the lineups in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships with multiple players withdrawing from the second WTA 1000 tournament of 2026. Aside from the world number one and two Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek, it includes the finalists from Qatar who have decided to sit this event out after using up all their efforts in a stunning week in Doha.

The champion Karolina Muchova finally won a maiden WTA 1000 title and her first title since 2019. She was immaculate all week, producing a scintillating display to defeat a dangerous Mboko in the final as she rises to world number 11, on the cusp of jumping back into the top 10. However, that will not occur in Dubai with the Czech changing her schedule and not committing to seeing out the Middle East swing.

It is a slightly different reason for Mboko who cites a right elbow problem. She has enjoyed what has been a cracking start to the year, already replicating the form that saw her jump from outside the top 300 to inside the top 20 in 2025. She reached the final of the Adelaide International before making the round of 16 at her debut in the Australian Open. It was also a first voyage to Dubai for the young Canadian which may not have ended in the way she would have hoped but new ground has been broken.

She becomes the second teenager to currently occupy the top 10, joining Mirra Andreeva among the best tennis players on the WTA Tour. She would have been hoping to make more inroads in Dubai but this will not happen as she looks to preserve her body looking ahead to the Sunshine swing.

One of them has come as recently as a few hours before their specific match, with Emma Raducanu now having to prepare to face a different opponent on court. The inform Elisabetta Cocciaretto will not be continuing her fine form in Dubai after pulling out of the event due to a thigh injury halting her progress.

The Italian has had a whirlwind of a 2026. She kicked off the year with her first WTA title since 2023, taking down the talented Iva Jovic in the final to get the year off with a huge bang. Her Australian Open ended at the first hurdle after failing to find a way past Julia Grabher but she would put them wrongs into rights in Doha.

She actually failed to qualify for the Qatar Open, losing out disappointingly to Varvara Gracheva in her second match. Cocciaretto was fortunate to enter the event as a lucky loser, and made the most of this chance. She won three matches to reach the quarter-finals, taking down the world number four Coco Gauff enroute for a third career top 10 victory before being taken down in a tight match by Jelena Ostapenko.

Instantly after, she was not able to bathe in her glory as she sot straight off to Dubai to attempt to qualify for the next tournament. She completed this but will not take any part. Raducanu was set to face her off but will now have to adjust her mindset ahead of lucky loser Antonia Ruzic.

Maria Sakkari and Qinwen Zheng will also miss out on the chance of competing due to illness. It was significant tournaments for both players in Doha. Sakkari rose a huge 19 places after rolling back the years and reaching a semi-final in the event, losing out to Muchova.

Zheng makes a return to the court after an elbow injury has cost her a lot of time on court. She had surgery after Wimbledon before a failed return to the China Open saw her sit on the sidelines for a longer space of time that she would have hoped for. Illness has prevented her from featuring this week but she will use this time to rest and recover ahead of bigger things to come from the former Grand Slam finalist.

The lucky losers who have capitalised from this are Hailey Baptiste (who retired in round one against Alexandra Eala), Ruzic, Anastasia Zakharova, Petra Marcinko, Peyton Stearns, Kamila Rakhimova and Magdalena Frech.