The opening WTA 1000 event of 2026 presents a heavyweight draw in Doha, even after the withdrawal of world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. Six of the world’s Top 10 are entered at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open, with top seed and former champion Iga Swiatek heading a stacked top half.

Swiatek, who won the Doha title in 2022 and went on to claim the No. 1 ranking and two major trophies that season, is listed as the world No. 2 in this draw. The top half pairs her on the same side as defending champion Amanda Anisimova and Australian Open semifinalist Elina Svitolina. The six-time Grand Slam champion will face either Indonesian wild card Janice Tjen or Sorana Cirstea following a first-round bye.

Swiatek and Anisimova produced one of the standout rivalries of 2025, with Anisimova avenging a 6-0, 6-0 Wimbledon finals defeat to the Pole by recording hard-fought wins at the US Open and the WTA Finals. Anisimova began a breakthrough run last February when she won her first WTA 1000 title in Doha; she later reached back-to-back Grand Slam finals and added a second WTA 1000 trophy in Beijing. Seeded third, Anisimova opens against the winner of former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova or Filipina sensation Alexandra Eala.

Pliskova is returning after missing much of the last two years with multiple injuries and reached the third round at the Australian Open. Eala’s rise continued after a fairytale run to the 2025 Miami Open semifinals.

The bottom half is anchored by reigning Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina, competing in her first event since lifting a second career major title. Rybakina will open against either Wang Xinyu or Emiliana Arango, with a projected quarterfinal against No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva. Coco Gauff also landed in Rybakina’s half and could face McCartney Kessler in her opening match; Kessler scored a statement victory over Gauff in the Middle East last February, stunning the two-time Grand Slam victor at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Victoria Mboko has paired with Coco Gauff in the doubles draw at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open, after both players missed entry with their original partners. “We were actually both entered with two other players,” she said on Saturday, “but unfortunately, neither of us were able to make it into the draw with our original partners.

“So, we were like, ‘Wanna play?’ and so, it just came about. But it’s pretty cool!”

Mboko arrives in Doha following a breakout 2025 campaign that earned her WTA Newcomer of the Year honors. Her breakthrough came at the Omnium Banque Nationale in Montréal, where she captured her first WTA 1000 title and notched upsets over Elena Rybakina, Naomi Osaka, and Coco Gauff. She closed out 2025 with a second title in Hong Kong and opened 2026 with a run into the second week of the Australian Open.

Gauff, a former No. 1 in doubles and a two-time Grand Slam champion, has frequently partnered with members of the next generation. She teamed with Alexandra Eala for a successful run at the 2025 Internazionali BNL d’Italia. Having made her WTA debut at 15, the 21-year-old American has seen more peers rise through the ranks in recent seasons and has welcomed the change.

“It was very lonely for me, honestly,” Gauff confessed of her early years on tour last month at the Australian Open . “So, it’s great to have, like, more people of my age range doing better, so I can see them at tournaments more, because I had a lot of friends, but we weren’t playing the same tournaments. It was tough to keep up with those relationships.

“I felt like the last couple of years or maybe last two years on tour have been some of my happiest, even though maybe the tennis has been up and down just because you see more friendly faces in the locker room that you can actually be with.”

The pairing brings together a recent breakthrough talent and an established champion, setting up an intriguing doubles combination for the WTA 1000 event.

Aryna Sabalenka announced she will not play the Qatar TotalEnergies Open, citing a change in schedule that removes the world No. 1 from the first WTA 1000 event of the 2026 season. The withdrawal comes ahead of what would have been her first tournament since finishing runner-up at the 2026 Australian Open.

Attention around Sabalenka’s absence intensified after fans noticed a new ring on the player’s finger in social media posts published on Wednesday. The sighting stirred speculation about an engagement to longtime boyfriend Georgios Frangulis, who has been in a relationship with Sabalenka since 2024 and is identified as the CEO of açaí bowl brand Oakberry.

Sabalenka is scheduled to return to competition the following week at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where she may face questions about the ring and her plans. The player had recently hinted at a desire to advance her relationship during her runner-up speech at the Australian Open, when she said she hoped to call her boyfriend “something else.”

On court, Sabalenka arrived in Doha as the world No. 1 and the highest seed, coming off a run to the Australian Open final. In that Grand Slam championship match she lost to Elena Rybakina, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, after holding a 3-0 lead in the deciding set. The defeat left Sabalenka 4-4 in major finals and she entered the 2026 season with four Grand Slam singles titles to her name.

Tournament organizers will proceed without the top-ranked player in Doha, and attention now shifts to Dubai for Sabalenka’s expected return. Until then, questions about her schedule and the personal developments suggested by the ring will likely remain subjects of interest for fans and the media.