Multiple Grand Slam winner confirms she’s going to Qatar after Aryna Sabalenka and others withdraw

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The WTA 1000 Qatar Open will be without some of the biggest names in women’s tennis.

After her Australian Open final defeat, Aryna Sabalenka withdrew from the Qatar Open.

Other names set to skip the tournament include Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, and Naomi Osaka.

Tournament organisers will hope no one else chooses to miss the first WTA 1000 event of the season.

The Qatar Open has just received some much-needed good news, though, as a multiple Grand Slam winner confirmed she’s on her way.

Elena Rybakina is travelling to Doha for the Qatar Open

World number three and Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina confirmed her whereabouts in an Instagram story.

Rybakina first posted a video, with the location marked as ‘Dubai, UAE’.

A separate post followed of the word ‘Doha’, accompanied by emojis of the Qatari flag and an aeroplane.

It doesn’t take a genius to work out what she meant by that…

When Rybakina arrives in Doha, she’ll compete as the number-two seed.

But who may she have to beat en route to the Qatar Open title?

Elena Rybakina’s Qatar Open draw

The Kazakh could meet Xinyu Wang, Diana Shnaider, Mirra Andreeva, Coco Gauff, and Iga Swiatek in Qatar.

Fans would no doubt love to see her play either Gauff or Swiatek in the latter stages of the tournament.

She has won six matches and lost six matches against Swiatek, but Rybakina lost her one career meeting with the American.

It won’t be easy if Rybakina does take on the pair in Doha, although she’ll be relieved not to see any of the following names in the draw.

2026 Qatar Open withdrawals

• Aryna Sabalenka – replaced by Emiliana Arango
• Jessica Pegula – replaced by Daria Kasatkina
• Belinda Bencic – replaced by Magda Linette
• Madison Keys – replaced by Laura Siegemund
• Naomi Osaka – replaced by Xinyu Wang
• Marta Kostyuk – replaced by Marie Bouzkova
• Iva Jovic – replaced by Katerina Siniakova
• Eva Lys – replaced by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
• Marketa Vondrousova – replaced by Maria Sakkari
• Lois Boisson – replaced by Cristina Bucsa
• Veronika Kudermetova – replaced by Alexandra Eala

Only time will tell if Rybakina can win another ‘big’ title in Qatar, but you certainly won’t want to miss any of the action.

Who won the 2025 Qatar Open?

It was a tricky tournament for the top seeds a year ago.

[1] Sabelenka, [3] Gauff, [7] Qinwen Zheng, and [8] Emma Navarro all lost their opening matches.

Aryna Sabalenka is now the — best women’s player of all time

Where are you ranking her?

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Then, [4] Jasmine Paolini lost in the third round.

Just three seeds made it through to the Qatar Open quarterfinals: Swiatek, Rybakina, and Pegula.

But only one advanced to the semis.

2025 Qatar Open quarterfinals

• Ekaterina Alexandrova defeated [6] Jessica Pegula, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
• Amanda Anisimova defeated Marta Kostyuk, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4
• Jelena Ostapenko defeated Ons Jabeur, 6-2, 6-2
• [2] Iga Swiatek defeated [5] Elena Rybakina, 6-2, 7-5

Swiatek was the last seed standing, but failed in her bid to reach the final, as Jelena Ostapenko extended her remarkable winning record against the Pole.

2025 Qatar Open semifinals

• Amanda Anisimova defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova, 6-3, 6-3
• Jelena Ostapenko defeated [2] Iga Swiatek, 6-3, 6-1

Then, in the final, Anisimova beat Ostapenko in straight sets to win her maiden WTA 1000 title.

2025 Qatar Open final

• Amanda Anisimova defeated Jelena Ostapenko, 6-4, 6-3

Anisimova returns as the number-three seed in 2026, looking to defend her title.

The 2026 Qatar Open begins on Monday, February 9.