Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek Dubai withdrawals signal strategic scheduling from top players

DOHA, Qatar—Maria Sakkari came off the court after her Qatar TotalEnergies Open run reluctant to think about the very next WTA 1000 tournament starting tomorrow.

“Right now, I have no energy at all,” joked Maria Sakkari after a semifinal defeat to Karolina Muchova in Doha. “I need food. I need fuel.”

Sakkari will travel from Doha to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Sunday. Unseeded in both draws, the former world No. 3 was wary about the tight turnaround that has long been a hallmark of the Middle East swing.

“I hope the supervisor puts me on Monday,” she added with a laugh.

World No. 2 Iga Swiatek opted out of the turnaround after her quarterfinal exit in Doha, while top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka skipped the Middle East swing altogether, the world’s Top 2 players announcing their withdrawals from Dubai on Sunday afternoon.

“Unfortunately, I am not feeling 100 per cent,” Sabalenka said in a statement.

“I hope I will come back next year to experience the great tournament,” said Swiatek.

A former champion in Dubai, Swiatek cited not a specific injury but a “change in schedule” as her reason for withdrawing. While Swiatek has regularly played a largely full schedule since first becoming world No. 1 in 2022, Sabalenka has increasingly scheduled in a way that prioritizes the Grand Slam tournaments, skipping four of the last six WTA 1000 tournaments.

“I think, on their level, I mean, it's the No. 1 and No. 2 in the world, they can basically be more selective with what they play,” mused Sakkari, who wasn’t aware of their absences. “I don't know if it's injury or fatigue related, but probably they thought that it's the right thing to do for them.”

Jelena Ostapenko will also be heading to Dubai after her semifinal defeat to Victoria Mboko. A two-time finalist in Doha and a former champion in Dubai, the Latvian met the press after playing both singles and doubles and asked the media to keep it short.

“It's a very quick turnaround because, even like last year making the finals here, this year playing semis, you cannot really enjoy it, because you have like one day, like the maximum one day just to, you know, to relax a bit and then you have to be in a game mode again,” Ostapenko said. “It's a very quick turnaround for a 1000 event.”

While most 1000-level events have expanded to 10-day and two-week formats, the Middle East double have remained one-week but where Doha and Dubai previously traded the 1000-level sanction on alternating years, both became WTA 1000s in 2024, putting pressure on players to compete in both high-stakes tournaments back-to-back.

This comes at a time when top players, frequently complaining about the lack of an extended off-season, have looked to shorten, rather than expand, their schedules.

“We decided that we're going to play a more reduced calendar,” echoed Sakkari, who is aiming to rebuild her ranking after struggling with injuries in the last two seasons. “Not that that means that I'm going to play 10, 12 tournaments a year, but we're not going to chase stupidly points and tournaments.”

I think, on their level, I mean, it's the No. 1 and No. 2 in the world, they can basically be more selective with what they play. I don't know if it's injury or fatigue related, but probably they thought that it's the right thing to do for them. Maria Sakkari

Where veteran players may be playing fewer tournaments, 19-year-old Doha finalist Victoria Mboko gave no indication that the calendar was draining her reserves—though the Canadian did withdraw from the Cincinnati Open following her WTA 1000 victory at the Omnium Banque Nationale the previous week.

“I think training plays a big part, the way you train, putting a lot of emphasis on fitness,” Mboko explained when asked the key to managing tough turnarounds on the schedule. “It is a lot of matches, and the tournaments are really close to each other, so it's hard to try to manage that. Of course, you want to manage your tournament schedule the best you can.

“But yeah, I think just, from a recovery standpoint and doing good physio, having good fitness and good routines help you kind of last longer in that sense. I'm trying to improve that in a way. I mean, we're always focused on it, but I think it's important to also prioritize everything else off court that's not related to tennis.”

None of Doha’s semifinalists have indicated an intent to withdraw from Dubai, but the latter’s draw is yet to be released.