WTA: Abu Dhabi extends the Arabian Swing
With the new event in Abu Dhabi, the women will be presented with just as many tournaments within three weeks that enjoy at least 500 status.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Feb 05, 2023, 08:19 pm
Two swings in the tennis circus start this Monday: The one in South America on clay has been established for a long time, first in Cordoba, followed by guest games in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. If you still haven't had enough of the red ashes, you can also do it in Cordoba.
The best women traditionally meet in Doha and Dubai at this time of the year. For the first time this season, another WTA Tour 500 tournament will also be presented: the matches of the main draw are already starting today in Abu Dhabi. And the cast is impressive. Daria Kasatkina leads the seed list ahead of Belinda Bencic . In third place is Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina , who narrowly missed out on Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the Australian Open a few days ago.
Sakkari this week in Linz
The strong line-up naturally brings with it some top-class first-round matches: Karolina Pliskova meets Garbine Muguruza . The match-up between Danielle Collins and Jelena Ostapenko is also impressive. Paula Badosa, who was among the ten best women in the world a year ago, has to deal with Liudmila Samsonova right from the start.
The tableaus will be even better occupied in the next two weeks. Doha has 500 status this season, Dubai will host a 1000 event. This week there is only competition for the Arabian Swing in Linz, where Maria Sakkari starts as the top favorite for the title.