Iga Swiatek makes her return to tennis this week at the Qatar Open, where she is the top seed.
Swiatek is playing her first tournament since the Australian Open, where she lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Elena Rybakina.
Rybakina is third in the WTA rankings following her success in Melbourne, although she remains behind Swiatek in second and Aryna Sabalenka in first.
The WTA number one has opted against playing at the Qatar Open, but both Swiatek and Rybakina feature in a high-quality field.
Australian Open champion Rybakina certainly has momentum on her side, but Swiatek boasts a phenomenal history in Doha that should provide her with a huge confidence boost.
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Iga Swiatek has a stunning Qatar Open record
Swiatek reached the semifinals of the 2025 Qatar Open, where she suffered a shock defeat to familiar foe Jelena Ostapenko.
The surprising nature of the loss was because of the Pole’s 15-match winning run in Doha, the longest such run at the entire tournament.
That superb run helped Swiatek to three successive titles at the Qatar Open, arriving in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
She will be using that history as motivation this year, with Swiatek’s record in Doha simply a class above her rivals.
Rybakina’s best finish is a 2024 runner-up spot, while Coco Gauff has constantly fallen short in the last few years, suffering back-to-back second round exits.
Her fellow American Amanda Anisimova is, however, arguably the player that Swiatek needs to be most wary of.
Anisimova lifted the trophy in Doha last time out, defeating Ostapenko in the final after her upset of Swiatek.
But now is a fantastic chance for the Pole to get back on track and gain some much-needed momentum at this key stage of the season.
Notably, she beat Rybakina in the 2024 final, having done the same against Jessica Pegula and Anett Kontaveit in 2023 and 2022 respectively.
| Year | Champion | Runner-up | Score |
| 2022 | Iga Swiatek | Anett Kontaveit | 6–2, 6–0 |
| 2023 | Iga Swiatek | Jessica Pegula | 6–3, 6–0 |
| 2024 | Iga Swiatek | Elena Rybakina | 7–6(10–8), 6–2 |
| 2025 | Amanda Anisimova | Jelena Ostapenko | 6–4, 6–3 |
Iga Swiatek’s potential route to the Qatar Open final
Of course, more Qatar success for Swiatek won’t exactly be straightforward, even with several high-profile withdrawals.
Joining Sabalenka in withdrawing from Qatar are Pegula, Madison Keys, Iva Jovic and Naomi Osaka among others.
After receiving a bye in round one, three-time champion Swiatek will meet the winner of Janice Tjen and Beatriz Haddad Maia in round two.
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Daria Kasatkina and Elise Mertens represent potential round of 16 opponents, followed by a potential quarterfinal with Jasmine Paolini.
Should the Pole make it that far, she could meet Anisimova in the semifinals, with a potential final against Rybakina or Gauff.
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