Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina renew rivalry in Doha: Three Storylines to watch

With the first Grand Slam tournament of 2026 in the books, the WTA tour will head to the Middle East to kick off its swing of 1000-level events at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open in Doha.

A staple on the WTA calendar for over two decades, Doha will host nine of the world’s Top 10 players fresh off the Australian Open and serve as the first half of the Doha-Dubai Middle East double. With 1000 ranking points on the line, there is plenty to play for; here are five storylines to watch.

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1. Can Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina maintain her momentum in the Middle East?

Rybakina first proved herself an Australian Open contender in the Middle East last fall when she stormed to the 2025 WTA Finals title in Riyadh, defeating world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 2 Iga Swiatek along the way.

The Kazakh repeated the feat last week in Melbourne, stunning both Swiatek and Rybakina to capture her second Grand Slam victory—and first since the 2022 Wimbledon championship—and set the stage for a career-best season.

“I have big goals,” Rybakina confirmed. “Of course, time will show, but definitely we will keep on working, and hopefully I achieve my goals.”

One of those big goals is likely the No. 1 ranking, which the world No. 3 is yet to achieve. Rybakina has historically posted strong results in the Middle East, reaching the finals in Doha in 2024, and with only hard courts in front of her for the next eight weeks, the 26-year-old has a big opportunity to narrow the gap between herself and the top-ranked Sabalenka.

2. How will Aryna Sabalenka rebound from her fourth Grand Slam finals defeat?

It’s a tale of two careers for Aryna Sabalenka, who has regularly put herself in touching distance of all of the sport’s biggest titles since 2023 but has only converted about half the time. She ended 2025 by winning a fourth Grand Slam trophy at the US Open but fell to 4-4 in major finals last week when she fell to Elena Rybakina from 3-0 up in the final set.

Where Rybakina has shined in the Middle East, Sabalenka has historically struggled for motivation in the post-Australian Open swing, not making it past the quarterfinals of Doha since winning the title in 2020.

Despite feeling the disappointment of another major defeat, Sabalenka was feeling optimistic in press when comparing this loss to her two runner-up finishes in 2025.

“Overall it was much better than last year,” she said. “I was ready to fight, I knew that she's not going to give it easily to me.  So, I think overall, I made huge improvement on that, and I still lost it. But it's okay. I feel like I'm moving towards the right direction.”

Leading the field by over 3000 points, Sabalenka has a chance to build on her total even more in Doha, but will she take it?

3. Who will make the biggest push in the race for world No. 2?

Sabalenka may have world No. 1 locked up for the foreseeable future, there is plenty of competition for No. 2, which is currently held by Iga Swiatek.

From Swiatek to Jessica Pegula at No. 6, there is a spread of 1875 points, giving ample opportunity for the best performer to make a big move heading into March’s Sunshine Swing. No. 3 Elena Rybakina is in pole position, trailing Swiatek by just 455 points, but former No. 2 Coco Gauff could make a push of her own after making early exits in both Doha and Dubai last year.

Defending champion and world No. 4 Amanda Anisimova, who kicked off her breakthrough 2025 season with her run in the Middle East, can’t add to her point total in Dubai, but another strong result could help her return to her career-high of No. 3 in time for the spring. Meanwhile, Jessica Pegula is sitting out of Doha alongside Naomi Osaka, Madison Keys, and Iva Jovic, leaving openings for the likes of No. 7 Mirra Andreeva and No. 8 Jasmine Paolini to re-enter the fray.

And let’s not forget Swiatek herself. A former champion in Doha, the former world No. 1 has ample opportunity to build on her point total in the Middle East after making the semis and quarters of Doha and Dubai, respectively, in 2025.