- Top Seeds: Sofia Kenin, Elina Svitolina, Karolina Pliskova, Aryna Sabalenka
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ABU DHABI, UAE – Following a season like no other, the new 2021 season opens its doors in Abu Dhabi, where Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin leads the field.
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Tournament Fast Facts
| Level | WTA 500 |
| Surface | Hard (O) |
| Singles Draw | 64 |
| Doubles Draw | 32 |
| Prize Money | $565,530 |
| Tournament Website | |
| Top seeds | [1] Sofia Kenin
[2] Elina Svitolina [3] Karolina Pliskova [4] Aryna Sabalenka [5] Garbiñe Muguruza [6] Elena Rybakina [7] Elise Mertens [8] Marketa Vondrousova |
| Top Half | [1] Sofia Kenin
[5] Garbiñe Muguruza [4] Aryna Sabalenka [6] Elena Rybakina |
| Bottom Half | [8] Marketa Vondrousova
[3] Karolina Pliskova [7] Elise Mertens [2] Elina Svitolina |
Abu Dhabi WTA Women’s Tennis Open Draw & Results
| Tournament Website |
| Order of Play |
| Singles |
| Doubles |
| Qualifying |
[1] Sofia Kenin
As Kenin looks to build up momentum to mount a title defence in Melbourne in February, she leads a strong field to start off the season. Her first bump in the road might be when she faces the No. 4 seed Aryna Sabalenka, who seems to have the measure of her game, as does Elina Svitolina, should they both read the final.
Kenin’s Path to the Final (Ranking/Seeding)
- R1: QUALIFIER
- R2: Laura Siegemund | H2H: Kenin leads 2-0
- R3: Yulia Putintseva [13] | First Meeting
- QF: Garbiñe Muguruza [5] | H2H: Kenin leads 2-0
- SF: Aryna Sabalenka [4] | H2H: Sabalenka leads 2-0
- F: Elina Svitolina [2] | H2H: Svitolina leads 3-2
[2] Elina Svitolina
Svitolina continues to search for that elusive first slam, and on the restart last year picked up from where she left off having won in Monterrey with the Strasbourg title but perhaps disappointingly only a run to the quarter-final of Roland Garros, having opted to miss the US swing.
She ought to eye up a decent run here to start the season.
Svitolina’s Path to the Final (Ranking/Seeding)
- R1: Jessica Pegula | H2H: First Meeting
- R2: Fiona Ferro | H2H: First Meeting
- R3: Ekaterina Alexandrova [17] | H2H: Svitolina leads 1-0
- QF: Elise Mertens [7] | H2H: Svitolina leads 3-1
- SF: Karolina Pliskova [3] | H2H: Pliskova leads 5-4
- F: Sofia Kenin [1] | H2H: Svitolina leads 3-2
 |
[3] Karolina Pliskova
Pliskova also looks set for a solid run with good head-to head records against potential opponents. Apart from a run to the Rome final the restart was not great for the top-ranked Czech so new year, new start.
Pliskova’s Path to the final (Ranking/Seeding)
- R1: Sorana Cirstea | H2H tied at 1-1
- R2: Mona Barthel | H2H: Pliskova leads 2-1 (incl. ITF)
- R3: Donna Vekic [16] | H2H: Pliskova leads 3-1
- QF: Marketa Vondrousova [8] | H2H: Pliskova leads 2-0
- SF: Elina Svitolina [2] | H2H: Pliskova leads 5-4
- F: Sofia Kenin [1] | H2H: Pliskova leads 4-0
[4] Aryna Sabalenka
Sabalenka’s Path to the Final (Ranking/Seeding)
- R1: Polona Hercog | H2H tied at 1-1
- R2: Ajla Tomljanovic| H2H: Sabalenka leads 2-1
- R3: Ons Jabeur [15] | H2H: Jabeur leads 1-0
- QF: Elena Rybakina [6] | H2H: Sabalenka leads 1-0
- SF: Sofia Kenin [1] | H2H: Sabalenka leads 2-0
- F: Elina Svitolina [2] H2H tied at 1-1
The Abu Dhabi WTA Women’s Open takes place between 6-13 January (GMT +4 hours)
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