The WTA1000 Dubai draw is out, Zheng Qinwen may face Kenin again in the second round.

The main draw for the 2026 WTA1000 Dubai tournament has been officially announced, with Lebedkina and Anisimova seeded first and second in the top and bottom halves respectively. Chinese player Zheng Qinwen will play against American Stearns in the opening round, with their match set as the second on center court at approximately 16:30 Beijing time tomorrow. If Zheng wins, she will face the winner between last year’s finalist and 12th seed Townsend and American Kenin in the next round.

Zheng Qinwen Photo: Visual China

Earlier this week, Zheng Qinwen chose the WTA1000 Doha event as her comeback tournament and performed impressively, defeating Kenin and Parks consecutively. Although she lost to Lebedkina in the quarterfinals, her three consecutive three-set matches demonstrated her current strong physical and mental condition. In an interview, she mentioned that her elbow has not worsened and everything is improving. The only downside is that being away from competition for four months sometimes affects her focus in the later stages of matches, but she believes this will improve with more match play.

Another Chinese player, Wang Xinyu, withdrew from this event. After the Australian Open, she did not take much rest and flew to Romania to compete as the 4th seed at the WTA250 Cluj-Napoca tournament, where she exited in the third round. At Doha, Wang lost to Lebedkina in the second round. After over a month of continuous play, Wang has chosen to rest and adjust, with her next stops being the WTA250 Austin and the North American Sunshine double events.

2025 Finalists: Townsend, Andreyeva Photo: Visual China

Elsewhere, Lebedkina and Anisimova hold the top and bottom halves of the draw. Defending champion Andreyeva is seeded 5th and will face the winner between Sigmund and Kasatkina in the second round. Recently out-of-form Gauff will meet either Ostapenko or Kalinskaya, while notable players such as Paolini, Pegula, and Svitolina are also competing.

The total prize money for the WTA1000 Dubai event reaches $4,088,211, with the champion earning 1000 ranking points and $665,000 in prize money. Former champions at this tournament include Paolini, Krejcikova, Ostapenko, and Muguruza.

2026 WTA Dubai Women’s Singles Main Draw

The ATP500 Doha singles draw has also been released. Alcaraz is the top seed and will face Lindnerknech in the first round. Sinner anchors the bottom half and will play Czech star Machac initially. Chinese player Shang Juncheng enters with a protected ranking and will face 4th seed and 2023 champion Medvedev in the first round, marking their first meeting. Another Chinese player, Zhang Zhizhen, will play a qualifier in his opening match. The defending champion here is Tsitsipas, with past winners including Rublev, Djokovic, and Federer.

First eight seeds matchups

[1] Alcaraz vs [7] Khachanov

[4] Medvedev vs [5] Rublev

[8] Lehecka vs [3] Bublik

[6] Menchik vs [2] Sinner

2026 ATP Doha Men’s Singles Main Draw