The Qatar Open has been hit with several high-profile withdrawals ahead of the first WTA 1000 event of the year.
A minor tweak to the WTA Tour schedule has seen the withdrawals for the Qatar Open hit double figures following an intense two weeks at the Australian Open.
Sabalenka will not play the Qatar Open and she was followed out of the tournament by Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula, and Marta Kostyuk.
Two more names have withdrawn from the tournament after the draw had been made, including a two-time Grand Slam champion.
Paula Badosa and Barbora Krejcikova withdraw from Qatar Open
On the eve of the WTA 1000 event, two more names have dropped out of the competition despite being named in the initial draw.
Paula Badosa and Barbora Krejcikova have dropped out of the tournament and they will be replaced by two lucky losers.
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Solana Sierra and Magdalena Frech will replace the two former top five players and they have been handed very tough first round matches.
Sierra will play Karolina Pliskova, who is flying back up the rankings after her Australian Open third round appearance.
Frech, meanwhile, has been drawn against 13th seed Liudmila Samsonova, who just reached the quarter-finals in Abu Dhabi.
Badosa and Krejcikova’s withdrawals mean that 14 female stars have dropped out of the Qatar competition.
Who has qualified for the Qatar Open?
With less seeded players than normal in Qatar, there could be a major opportunity for a lesser-known star to go far in the event.
Hotly-tipped teenager Tereza Valentova has been drawn against Alexandra Eala, which could be one of the matches of the round.
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Camila Osorio, who recently won the Philippine Women’s Open, has been gifted a very winnable tie with Emma Raducanu in round one.
Britain’s Sonay Kartal will be looking to get the best of Magda Linette, following her run to the Abu Dhabi quarter-finals.
Elsewhere, 41-year-old Vera Zvonareva has qualified for yet another Masters event and she will play Peyton Stearns.
