Garbine Muguruza, Simona Halep, Coco Gauff, and Danielle Collins Take Spotlight in Star-Studded WTA Dubai Open Draw

After a highly-celebrated Australian Open, the next tournament to feature some of the top stars on the WTA circuit is the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. The draw ceremony of this WTA 500 event took place moments ago and it contains of top-tier players like Aryna Sabalenka, Barbora Krejcikova, Iga Swiatek, amongst others.

Sabalenka is the top seed while Krejcikova is seeded second. Alongside these players, experienced campaigners like Simona Halep, Victoria Azarenka, and Elina Svitolina are also present in the mix. Garbine Muguruza is the defending champion.

Top half – Aryna Sabalenka, Petra Kvitova, Coco Gauff, and Simona Halep highlight the field

Halep, who is trying to make a mark on tour once again, will take on Alison Riske in the opening round. Once she gets past the American, she will have to face a stiff challenge in the form of new world no.5 Paula Badosa. Since the latter half of the 2021 season, Badosa rose to the top of the rankings by producing stellar performances.

While it’s tough to predict whether Halep will be able to cross Badosa or not, their match-up will be an intriguing encounter to witness.

Americans Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula face off in the opening round and the winner will most likely meet the eighth seed Ons Jabeur. Alongside Badosa, Jabeur is also one of the most improved players on the women’s tour.

Coming to the top seed Aryna Sabalenka, she could very well set up a possible contest with former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the round of 16. Another American Sofia Kenin will meet Jelena Ostapenko in the first round as they promise yet another engaging contest for fans to witness.

Bottom Half – Barbora Krejcikova, Garbine Muguruza, Maria Sakkari take center stage

Defending champion Garbine Muguruza sets up a blockbuster match-up against Danielle Collins in the opening round. The duo last met in the 2020 French Open, where Collins defeated Muguruza in a three-set thriller. If Muguruza passes the Collins test, she will most likely meet Victoria Azarenka in the round of 16.

Maria Sakkari and Elina Svitolina could face each other in the round of 16. Svitolina, who has been struggling to find form off late, will look to make use of this opportunity in Dubai and make it big.

Here are some of the projected encounters to look forward to at the WTA 500 Dubai Open:

1. Petra Kvitova vs Aryna Sabalenka
2. Iga Swiatek vs Jelena Ostapenko
3. Paula Badosa vs Simona Halep
4. Coco Gauff vs Ons Jabeur
5. Danielle Collins vs Garbine Muguruza

Predicted Quarter-finals:

1. Aryna Sabalenka vs Iga Swaitek
2. Paula Badosa vs Ons Jabeur
3. Garbine Muguruza vs Anett Kontaveit
4. Barbora Krejcikova vs Maria Sakkari

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