Three to See, Dubai Day 3: Azarenka vs. Swiatek, Gauff vs. Kessler and Bencic vs. Navarro

Iga Swiatek vs. Victoria Azarenka

How much career does Azarenka have left at 35? Until this season, the former No. 1 seemed relatively immune from the effects of time. While she didn’t threaten at the majors in 2024, she made more than her share of semifinals and quarterfinals at tour events. So far, though, 2025 looks like it might be a steeper slog. After six weeks, Vika is 2-4; she lost to an unseeded opponent in the first round at the Australian Open; and she’s out of the Top 30. While she edged Anhelina Kalinina in the first round in Dubai, she’ll need to raise her level a lot more if she’s going to win again on Tuesday.

Read more: Quote of the Day: Victoria Azarenka doesn’t recommend tennis for “mental wellness”

Swiatek will likely come to this event feeling differently than she has the last three years. From 2022 to 2024, she tore through the Doha field and ended up with the title. This time she arrives after a lopsided semifinal loss to Jelena Ostapenko. But that may not be a change for the worse. She has never won Dubai; maybe a little extra rest and a little extra motivation to leave February with a win will help.

Swiatek is 3-1 against Azarenka, which includes a 6-4, 6-0 rout in their most recent meeting, last year in Doha. Swiatek tends to build momentum as a tournament goes along, so she might not be at her most ruthlessly confident in this one.

That’s reason enough to believe Azarenka can stay afloat for longer than she did in their last match. But it’s not a reason to think she can win. Winner: Swiatek

Coco Gauff vs. McCartney Kessler

From Madison Keys to Amanda Anisimova to Ashlyn Krueger, this has been the season of the surprise American women’s title winner. The list also includes another, lesser-known player: the 25-year-old Kessler, who won her second career title in Hobart in January.

A Georgia native and former Florida Gator, Kessler has been one of the WTA’s under-the-radar late-bloomers over the last couple of seasons. In 2022, she was ranked in the 900s; in 2023, she was in the 200s; in 2024, she finished 67th. Today she’s 53rd, and she beat Doha champ Anisimova on Monday.

Read more: Amanda Anisimova: WTA schedule left Doha champ “vulnerable” in Dubai

Now Kessler will take the next, logical step up: A first meeting with the U.S. No. 1. It has been a quiet—in a disappointing way, most likely—few weeks for Gauff. Since losing to Paula Badosa at the Australian Open last month, she’s played just one match, a straight-set defeat to Marta Kostyuk in Doha. Gauff finished 2024 and came into 2025 on a high, but she is prone to peaks and valleys. Is she heading into one now?

Either way, Kessler, a countrywoman with rising confidence and a still-improving game, will be a good test. Gauff could use matches heading back to the States. Will that fact motivate her here, or put more pressure on her? Winner: Gauff

Belinda Bencic vs. Emma Navarro

The rankings tell one story. Navarro is No. 8; Bencic is No. 66. But the recent results tell a very different tale: Two weeks ago in Abu Dhabi, Bencic won a title; last week in Doha, Navarro lost by a stunning set of 6-2, 6-2 scores to Leylah Fernandez.

At the start of the year, the idea that Bencic would be in better form than Navarro by February would have been hard to credit. Bencic had recently returned to the tour after having a child, while Navarro was coming off a career season that sent her rocketing from out of nowhere and into the Top 10. So far this year, maybe due to a subsequent rise in expectations, Navarro hasn’t found the same magic in her racquet. Even her run to the Australian Open quarterfinals was more of a testament to her grit than to her form.

Which means this should be a competitive match, and an enjoyable one to watch. Both women cut off angles, take the ball early, anticipate well, and take time away from their opponents. We’ll see who gives the other less of it on Tuesday. Winner: Bencic