Amanda Anisimova will be hoping to bounce back from her early exit at the Qatar Open at this week’s Dubai Tennis Championships.
The American star was the defending champion in Qatar, but she surrendered her title after retiring from her opening match against Karolina Pliskova.
As a result, Anisimova lost 990 WTA ranking points at the event and surrendered the American number one spot to Coco Gauff, who also lost her opening match.
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Ahead of the Dubai Tennis Championships, Anisimova has provided an update on her condition and explained the reason behind her withdrawal from the Doha event.
Amanda Anisimova’s health update
“Yeah, I thought we actually played a great match,” Anisimova said of her match against Pliskova in Qatar.
“I feel like the level was really high. I walked away from that match feeling really good about my game and everything.
“I feel like I actually improved on a lot of things I wanted to do after Australia. I feel like I did the things that I wanted to do in that match.
“Obviously, she played really well. It’s really good to see her playing at such a high level after such a long break with injuries. Yeah, really happy for her.
“I just had a head cold. It was really hard to compete at that level, and I wasn’t really able to practice the days before, but nothing serious. That’s also good.”
Anisimova, the second seed in Dubai, has received a bye through to the second round. There, she will face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova or Barbora Krejcikova.
If Anisimova advances to the third round, she will play either Janice Tjen, Liudmila Samsonova or Leylah Fernandez – who has struggled at the start of 2026.
Anisimova has the opportunity to gain a significant amount of WTA ranking points at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
The American is defending 10 points after losing to McCartney Kessler in her opening match at the 2025 event, meaning she would gain 990 points if she wins the 2026 tournament.
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Amanda Anisimova has another opportunity
After competing in Dubai, Anisimova has yet another opportunity at the Indian Wells Open in California.
Anisimova, like in Dubai, is defending very few points in Indian Wells. The American was defeated in her opening match at the 2025 tournament by Belinda Bencic, meaning she will only defend 35 points at this year’s event.
Therefore, if Anisimova can go on a good run in Dubai and Indian Wells she could overtake Coco Gauff as the American number one.
Of course, Gauff will have a significant influence on whether that situation occurs. After receiving a bye, Gauff will face Jelena Ostapenko or Anna Kalinskaya in the Dubai Tennis Championships second round.
Ostapenko recently reached the Qatar Open semi-finals, while Kalinskaya reached the quarter-finals.
