Free tennis tips, best outright bets and analysis for the WTA Qatar Ladies Open, which starts in Doha on Sunday
The first WTA 1000 tournament of the season begins on Sunday in Doha, where Iga Swiatek should take all the beating in her attempt to win the Qatar Ladies Open for the third straight year.
Swiatek suffered a shock third-round loss to Linda Noskova at last month’s Australian Open and, while she is still the number one, the gap at the top of the WTA Tour has narrowed and Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff are all threatening her dominance.
However, the Pole has never looked comfortable in Melbourne, where she has been beyond the fourth round just once, and there is every chance she will issue a positive response in an event she has made her own over the last two seasons.
The 22-year-old Varsovian is no stranger to shrugging off Australian Open disappointment by winning this title, despite bumping into some tough opponents in each of the last two years.
In 2022, Swiatek defeated Viktorija Golubic, Daria Kasatkina, Sabalenka, Maria Sakkari and Anett Konaveit, then last year she dropped five games in seeing off Danielle Collins, Veronika Kudermetova and Jessica Pegula having also benefited from a quarter-final walkover.
Gauff, Rybakina and Australian Open runner-up Qinwen Zheng are the chief threats this week but they are housed in the bottom half of the draw while underperforming Ons Jabeur and Sakkari are the second and third highest-ranked players in the top half.
Possible quarter-final opponent Jelena Ostapenko could cause Swiatek problems and Naomi Osaka is a dangerous unseeded lurker if she suddenly finds anything close to top form, but this looks a straightforward route to the final for the tournament favourite.
UK and Ireland viewers should note that the start of the Qatar Ladies Open coincides with the launch of Sky’s new dedicated tennis channel, Sky Sports Tennis.
