Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships: Preview, draw and how to watch
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Excitement and anticipation are building as the WTA tour continues it’s Middle Eastern swing with a trip to Dubai, ahead of the first WTA 1000 event of the year at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Find out everything you need to know in the lead up to the tournament, including who’s playing, the draw and how to watch in the UK.
When is the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2023?
The WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships will kick off on 19 February and conclude on the 25 February, with qualifying matches taking place between Friday 17 – Saturday 18 February.
The ATP 500 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships will take place the week after.
Where is the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2023 being held?
Located in Garhoud, the tournament is being held at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium – also known as the home of tennis in the United Arab Emirates.
Situated in the grounds of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Centre, the stadium has the capacity to welcome 5,000 spectators to its centre court and has become a hotspot for people seeking sporting entertainment in Dubai.
Who is the reigning champion at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships?
The tournament possesses a long history of welcoming some of the top tennis players in the world.
The 2022 championships saw world No.14 Jelena Ostapenko reign supreme to lift her fifth career title. The Latvian defeated four consecutive Grand Slam champions en route to the trophy – Sofia Kenin, Iga Swiatek, Petro Kvitova and Halep – before dispatching Veronika Kudermetova in a dominant win in the women’s singles final.
In the doubles draw, Elise Mertens and Veronika Kudermetova came out on top in a straight sets win against Ostapenko and Lyudmyla Kichenok to wear the crown.
Which British players are competing at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2023?
A star-studded field is scheduled to compete at the WTA 1000 event, with nine of the top 10 ranked players on the WTA tour set to feature.
Meanwhile Britain’s Harriet Dart will be competing in Dubai, as the British No.2 heads to the qualifiers to fight for a spot in the main draw of this year’s competition.
Fresh off the back of the Qatar Open qualifiers, the British No.2 will be looking to regain her form from the latter part of last season which saw her pick up some of the biggest wins of her career against Paula Badosa and Ajla Tomljanovic at the Billie Jean King Cup.
Eden Silva also joins Dart in the qualifying stages of the tournament, as she makes her first WTA appearance of the year in Dubai.
The draw
In the opening round of the qualifiers, Dart will face world No.75 Rebecca Marina, while Silva will battle against Austria’s Julia Grabher.
Check out the full draws for the WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships below.
How to watch the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2023
UK coverage of the WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2023 will be broadcast live on Amazon Prime Sport.
