WTA Dubai Duty Free preview: World number one Barty leads a packed draw
The WTA Dubai Duty Free championships will once again feature the world’s best players. The tournament is the first Premier 5 event of the year and will run from February 17th – February 22nd, 2020.
Played on outdoor hard courts, the Dubai Duty Free has grown to be one of the most loved tennis events in the world. The competition was solely a men’s event before becoming part of the WTA in 2001. It is the one of the first tournaments to award equal prize money to men and women and in 2019, it was voted as the best Premier 5 event.
Tennis greats Justine Henin, Martina Hingis and Venus Williams have won the title in Dubai and in 2019, world number seven Belinda Bencic defeated Petra Kvitova in a gripping three-set final.
World number one, Ashleigh Barty will be a favourite to win in Dubai for the first time. Barty ascended to the top of the women’s game by winning the 2019 French Open and ended last year with victory at the WTA finals. The Australian was recently upset by Jennifer Brady in Brisbane, but she looked strong in Adelaide.
Karolina Pliskova will make a seventh consecutive appearance in Dubai and will be a contender on her favourite surface. The second ranked player in the world has yet to win a Grand Slam, but has secured sixteen titles to date and successfully defended her Brisbane crown.
Wimbledon champion, Simona Halep adds to the list of top stars. Halep won this championship in 2015 and loves this tournament. Her ability to track down balls that many players cannot get close to is one of the reasons why she has the longest active streak of being ranked in the top 10. Halep has had a slow start to this year losing her second match in Adelaide, but more often than not, the Romanian knows when to elevate her level.
Belinda Bencic will return and look to retain her title. From the beginning of her career, the 22-year-old Swiss has been hailed as a young Martina Hingis based on her smooth playing style and tennis IQ. Her run to the title last year was remarkable. She saved six match points against Aryna Sabalenka in the round of sixteen, before progressing to beat Halep, Elina Svitolina and Petra Kvitova in three sets. Bencic made the quarter-finals of Adelaide.
Where is the tournament held?
The tournament is held at the Aviation Club Tennis Centre in Dubai
What surface is the tournament played on?
The tournament is played on outdoor hard court
How many players and how many seeds are in the tournament?
There are a total of 32 players and eight seeds in the singles
Rankings points, Singles:
Winner – 900 points
Finalist – 585 points
Semi-finalist – 350 points
Quarter-finalist – 190 points
Second round – 105 points
First round – 60 points
Where can I buy tickets for the tournament?
How I can follow the tournament without going there?
You can watch the tournament on Amazon prime video
You can also follow the tournament through their official Twitter here
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