Zhang Shuai's doubles team was swept, and former tournament champion Krejcikova withdrew!

The main focus of this week's tour is the WTA1000 Dubai tournament. Despite prior withdrawals from players like Sabalenka, Swiatek, and Zheng Qinwen, the draw still includes numerous elite competitors, with Leylah Fernandez, Anisimova, Gauff, and Pegula seeded as the top four in the women's singles.

As the rounds progress, we unfortunately see several players withdrawing mid-tournament. This year’s WTA500 Abu Dhabi singles champion, Burel, after defeating Semez in the first round, was set to face former tournament champion Bencic in the second round but has just announced her withdrawal. Bencic advances to the round of 16 without playing and will await the winner between Badosa and Svitolina.

Burel made a remarkable run at Abu Dhabi this year as a qualifier. Her ranking was close to the top 100 when entering Abu Dhabi, yet she successfully passed through qualifying, then won consecutive matches to reach the final and defeated Aleksandrova to claim the title. After this tournament, Burel’s world ranking surged 63 spots to 38th.

Her withdrawal from the second round in Dubai is likely aimed at better preparing for upcoming events. Besides Burel, former tournament champion Krejcikova also pulled out in the second round.

This two-time Grand Slam singles winner defeated Russian veteran Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-4 in the first round. She was scheduled to face second seed Anisimova in the second round but withdrew before the match due to a left thigh injury. Anisimova advances by walkover and will face Zeng Limi in the round of 16.

Although no Chinese players remain in the women’s singles draw at Dubai this year, several are still competing in doubles. However, their overall performance has been disappointing. Zhang Shuai and Mertens, who won the Australian Open doubles title together, reunited here as the tournament’s second seeds. After a first-round bye, they were upset 6-3, 6-3 in the second round by Wolmos/Pegula.

Looking at the entire match, although Pegula’s team had a clear lead in the final score, the games were closely contested. Zhang Shuai and Mertens were just slightly less effective in converting break points, managing only one out of ten opportunities.

Earlier, Jiang Xinyu continued partnering with Eikeri in Dubai but they also failed to secure a win, losing in the first round to Bozkova/Zeng Limi. Additionally, Yang Zhaoxuan’s team was eliminated early in the first round. Thus, no Chinese players have advanced to later rounds in this year’s Dubai tournament.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Barbie)