The entry list of the upcoming WTA in Dubai is out and Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams are in it. The tournament will be staged on the 8ht of March and it will be a WTA1000 event. Therefore, all top players are expected to take part in it and the line-up is glorious.
The absence of Serena is not surprising since she is generally reluctant in playing events that are not slams unless they are staged in the US or in places she feels comfortable like in Rome.
The absence of Naomi Osaka is a bit more surprising as the Japanese sensation hasn’t played much at all in 2020 (only 4 tournaments). Naomi is not very keen on overloading her schedules, but this WTA1000 is quite important. A probable explanation is that his management team is trying to bargain an appearance fee and then Osaka will be included in the entry list later. Still, everything needs to be confirmed.
Dayana Yastremska is also not part of the entry list. The Ukrainian beauty has been suspended for doping and she is still trying to clear her name.
Fortunately, the organization has secured a fantastic field also with the precious participation of Bianca Andreescu and Ashleigh Barty that had a rather quite 2020. The defending champion is Simona Halep that last year defeated Elena Rybabina in the final at the tiebreak of the final set (highlights)
Here the entry list.
| Pos. | Player | Rank |
| 1 | A. Barty | 1 |
| 2 | S. Halep | 2 |
| 3 | S. Kenin | 4 |
| 4 | E. Svitolina | 5 |
| 5 | Kar. Pliskova | 6 |
| 6 | A. Sabalenka | 7 |
| 7 | B. Andreescu | 8 |
| 8 | P. Kvitova | 9 |
| 9 | K. Bertens | 10 |
| 10 | B. Bencic | 12 |
| 11 | V. Azarenka | 13 |
| 12 | G. Muguruza | 15 |
| 13 | M. Keys | 16 |
| 14 | 1. Swiatek | 17 |
| 15 | P. Martic | 18 |
| 16 | E. Rybakina | 19 |
| 17 | E. Mertens | 20 |
| 18 | M.Vondrousova | 21 |
| 19 | M. Sakkari | 22 |
| 20 | A. Kontaveit | 23 |
| 21 | J. Brady | 24 |
| 22 | A. Kerber | 25 |
| 23 | A. Riske | 26 |
| 24 | K. Muchova | 27 |
| 25 | Y. Putintseva | 28 |
| 26 | 0. Jabeur | 30 |
| 27 | A. Anisimova | 31 |
| 28 | D. Vekic | 32 |
| 29 | E. Alexandrova | 33 |
| 30 | Q. Wang | 34 |
| 31 | S. Zhang | 35 |
| 32 | V. Kudermetova | 36 |
| 33 | S. Kuznetsova | 37 |
| 34 | B. Strycova | 38 |
| 35 | A.Pavlyuchenkova | 39 |
| 36 | M. Linette | 41 |
| 37 | S. Zheng | 42 |
| 38 | F. Ferro | 43 |
| 39 | C. Garcia | 44 |
| 40 | J. Ostapenko | 45 |
| 41 | D. Collins | 46 |
| 42 | Y. Shvedova | 47 (SR) |
| 43 | P. Hercog | 49 |
Naomi Osaka in 2021
Ranked no.3, the Japanese played her last match on the 12th of September 2020 when she beat Victoria Azarenka 1-6 6-3 6-3 in the final of the U.S. Open to win her 6th career title.
Serena Williams in 2021
Now the world no.11, Serena Williams played her last match on the 28th of September 2020 when she beat Kristie Ahn 7-6(2) 6-0 in the 1st round of the French Open (draw).
Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams clashed against each other 3 times. Their current head to head is 2-1 for Osaka. Previously, the last time they played, Serena Williams won 6-3 6-4 in the quarter in Toronto (Rogers Cup) in August 2019.
In the video below you can watch the highlights.
Bianca Vanessa Andreescu in 2021
Now ranked no.8, Andreescu played her last match on the 30th of October 2019 when she had to retire when playing against Karolina Pliskova in the round robin and the scoreline was 6-3 .
Ashleigh Barty in 2021
Now ranked no.1, Barty played her last match on the 28th of February 2020 when she was overcome by Petra Kvitova 6-4 2-6 6-4 in the semifinal in Doha (draw).
Bianca Vanessa Andreescu and Ashleigh Barty have never played each other as of now in top tournaments.
