Simona Halep has predictably retired from Dubai (8th of March), but the local organization will still benefit from the presence of the likes of Petra Kvitova, Garbine Muguruza and Victoria Azarenka. The world no.3 is rather adverse to travel when she doesn’t feel safe and it was widely expected that she would not have played in Dubai after withdrawing from Doha.
Simona Halep cited a lower back injury in her statement to say:
“Unfortunately I am not feeling 100 per cent in my lower back and I have made the tough decision to withdraw from @DDFTennis. I have great memories from winning my 20th WTA title in Dubai last year so I’m disappointed that I won’t be able to defend my title.”
Muguruza, Azarenka, Kvitova from Doha to Dubai
The good news for the tournament is that top players such as Petra Kvitova, Garbine Muguruza and Victoria Azarenka are still expected to play in Dubai despite reaching the semifinal in Doha. There could be some doubts about Vika Azarenka that looked in trouble with her back when facing Elina Svitolina.
The defending champion was Simona Halep that last year defeated Elina Rybakina 3-6 6-3 7-65 after winning a dramatic final.
Entry List
Here the updated entry list
Main Draw Singles
5 Svitolina, Elina (UKR)
6 Pliskova, Karolina (CZE)
7 Sabalenka, Aryna (BLR)
9 Kvitova, Petra (CZE)
10 Bertens, Kiki (NED)
12 Bencic, Belinda (SUI)
13 Azarenka, Victoria (BLR)
15 Muguruza, Garbiñe (ESP)
16 Keys, Madison (USA)
17 Swiatek, Iga (POL)
18 Martic, Petra (CRO)
19 Rybakina, Elena (KAZ)
20 Mertens, Elise (BEL)
21 Vondrousova, Marketa (CZE)
22 Sakkari, Maria (GRE)
23 Kontaveit, Anett (EST)
25 Kerber, Angelique (GER)
30 Jabeur, Ons (TUN)
31 Anisimova, Amanda (USA)
33 Alexandrova, Ekaterina (RUS)
34 Wang, Qiang (CHN)
36 Kudermetova, Veronika (RUS)
37 Kuznetsova, Svetlana (RUS)
39 Pavlyuchenkova, Anastasia (RUS)
42 Zheng, Saisai (CHN)
43 Ferro, Fiona (FRA)
44 Garcia, Caroline (FRA)
45 Ostapenko, Jelena (LAT)
46 Collins, Danielle (USA)
47 Shvedova, Yaroslava (KAZ) SR
49 Hercog, Polona (SLO)
Alternates
50 Mladenovic, Kristina (FRA)
51 Siegemund, Laura (GER)
53 Cornet, Alizé (FRA)
54 Sevastova, Anastasija (LAT)
56 Tig, Patricia Maria (ROU)
57 Teichmann, Jil (SUI)
59 Siniakova, Katerina (CZE)
60 Rogers, Shelby (USA)
63 Pera, Bernarda (USA)
64 Pegula, Jessica (USA)
66 Krejcikova, Barbora (CZE)
67 Badosa, Paula (ESP)
68 Hsieh, Su-Wei (TPE)
70 Pliskova, Kristyna (CZE)
71 Kasatkina, Daria (RUS)
72 Cirstea, Sorana (ROU)
79 Begu, Irina-Camelia (ROU)
Simona Halep in 2021
At the moment ranked no.3, Simona played her last match on the 16th of February when she lost to Serena Williams 6-3 6-3 in the quarter of the Australian Open (draw).
Until now, during this year Simona has a composed 6-2 match record.
Kvitova in Doha, ranking, and results in 2021
Ranked world no.10, Kvitova has achieved a 4-2 record in 2021. Petra is currently competing in Doha where she beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1 6-3 and Anett Kontaveit 6-3 3-6 6-2.
Petra Kvitova will fight against Pegula in the semifinal. The head to head is 1-0 for Kvitova.
The Czech won 27 titles in her career: 13 on hard courts, 5 on clay courts, 5 on indoor courts and 4 on grass courts. (See the list of her titles)
Simona Halep and Petra Kvitova squared off 4 times. Their actual record is 3-1 for Halep. Previously, the last time they locked horns, Petra Kvitova won 6-1 6-2 in the semifinal in Wuhan (Wuhan Tennis Open) in September 2016.
Muguruza in Doha, ranking, and results in 2021
Currently the world no.16, Garbine has achieved a composed 12-3 match record in 2021. The Spaniard is currently competing in Doha where she toppled Veronika Kudermetova 6-2 7-64, Aryna Sabalenka 6-2 6-75 6-3 and Maria Sakkari 6-3 6-1.
Garbine was the runner-up in Melbourne (Yarra Valley Classic).
The Spaniard won 7 titles in her career: 5 on hard courts, 1 on clay courts and 1 on grass courts. (See the list of her titles)
Azarenka in Doha, ranking, and results in 2021
Ranked world no.14, Azarenka has achieved a 4-1 win-loss record in 2021. Azarenka is currently competing in Doha where she defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2 6-3, Laura Siegemund 6-4 6-2 and Elina Svitolina 6-2 6-4.
Victoria won 21 titles in her career: 16 on hard courts, 1 on clay courts and 4 on indoor courts. (See the list of her titles)
Garbine Muguruza and Victoria Azarenka played each other 4 times. The head to head is 2-2. The last time they fought against each other, Garbine Muguruza won 3-6 6-3 6-4 in the quarter in Rome (Internazionali BNL d’Italia) in September 2020.
In the following video you can watch the highlights.
