Mirra Andreeva returns to the United Arab Emirates this week as the defending Dubai Tennis Championships title-holder.
The Russian starlet has enjoyed an impressive start to the 2026 campaign: winning the Adelaide International and reaching the Australian Open fourth round.
Last week, Andreeva’s campaign stuttered somewhat when she lost a marathon contest to Victoria Mboko in the Qatar Open round of 16.
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Despite being told that she has a ‘major issue’ in her game, Andreeva has continued to perform at the highest level and continues to be one of the best young talents on the WTA Tour.
Andreeva will hope to continue her bright start to the year in Dubai, where she is the defending champion.
Ahead of her opening match, the Russian revealed her most important goal for the 2026 season.
Mirra Andreeva’s goal for 2026 is to qualify for the WTA Finals
Last year, Mirra Andreeva was in a great position to qualify for the WTA Finals as the calendar transitioned to the Asian swing in September.
However, poor results in September and October opened the door for Elena Rybakina to capitalise; Andreeva reached the round of 16 at the China Open before losing her opening matches in Wuhan and Ningbo.
Despite the poor results, Andreeva was still in the final qualification spot heading into the penultimate week of the season.
However, she chose not to participate in the Japan Women’s Open. Rybakina took advantage of Andreeva’s absence by reaching the semi-finals in Japan and consequently, overtaking Andreeva in the WTA Finals race.
Rybakina went on to win the WTA Finals, defeating Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka on her way to the title.
This year, Mirra Andreeva has made it her priority to qualify for the Finals in Saudi Arabia.
Speaking to reporters in Dubai, Andreeva said: “Well, I think my goal is just going to be to try and improve as a player and as a person off the court and on the court, as well.
“I’m obviously going to try to win tournaments. My goal also is to be at the WTA Finals as a singles player ’cause, yeah, last year was a little bit tricky.
Do you think women should play best-of-five set matches?
“Elena obviously played great, won so many matches, she got more points than me. In the end she actually won the tournament. For me, I was not as sad as I could have been.
“Yeah, for me, I would maybe focus on try and be in WTA Finals in Riyadh as a singles player.”
The current WTA Finals standings
To the surprise of absolutely no one, Elena Rybakina currently holds the top spot after winning her second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.
Aryna Sabalenka is in second place after her Brisbane International title and run to the Australian Open final.
Elina Svitolina, Jessica Pegula and Andreeva take up the next three spots after their strong starts to the 2026 season.
| Player | Rank | Points |
| Elena Rybakina | 1 | 2,108 |
| Aryna Sabalenka | 2 | 1,800 |
| Elina Svitolina | 3 | 1,030 |
| Jessica Pegula | 4 | 975 |
| Mirra Andreeva | 5 | 848 |
| Victoria Mboko | 6 | 847 |
| Iva Jovic | 7 | 691 |
| Belinda Bencic | 8 | 624 |
| Iga Swiatek | 9 | 580 |
| Coco Gauff | 10 | 580 |
Victoria Mboko has joined the elite list after reaching the Qatar Open final – as have Iva Jovic and Belinda Bencic.
Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff, who both reached the Australian Open quarter-finals, are in the ninth and 10th spots.
