The third week of February delivered a clear uptick in intensity across three different events, setting the tone for the stretch that begins with Indian Wells. In Doha, Carlos Alcaraz produced one of his most commanding performances; in Dubai, Jessica Pegula found a cleaner, more efficient version of her game; and in Delray Beach, Sebastian Korda navigated extreme wind to claim a title.

Alcaraz dismantled Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-1 in a 50-minute final, during which Fils managed only five points on Alcaraz’s serve. “I played great. I played amazing,” Alcaraz said after the match, adding, “I played really aggressively, and I didn’t do any mistakes at all. I was serving well, returning well.” The champion finished with 19 winners, nine errors, and was five for five at the net; he won 28 of 33 service points and improved to 12-0 on the season.

Jessica Pegula’s week in Dubai reinforced the value of a straightforward, timing-based game. A former player and commentator likened her style to a school of modernist design: direct, unfussy and focused on efficiency. “She has maybe the best timing in the world.” Pegula recovered from a lopsided semifinal first set to beat Amanda Anisimova and then defeated Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-4 in the final. The title was the 10th of her career, left her 35 points behind Coco Gauff at No. 4, and pushed her to 13-2 on the year. Pegula credited work with coach Mark Knowles: “We kind of went back to emphasizing how I play tennis,” and added, “It’s not the same as maybe Aryna or an Iga or Coco or whoever. I like to take the ball early. I like to work on my timing.”

In Delray Beach, swirling wind shaped the final between Sebastian Korda and Tommy Paul. “I was born and raised in Florida, so I’m used to the wind, but this was extreme for sure,” Korda said. He adjusted with slices and backspin to prevail 6-4, 6-3, noting, “We were both struggling out there.” The victory was Korda’s third career title, coming in his second week with new coach Ryan Harrison, and felt like a measure of closure: “I’ve been through some stuff the last couple months, years,” he said. “I’ve lost a lot of finals. This is where I made my first ATP final, so it’s kind of like a full circle.”

“0 my friend. Dubai is pending.”

Those words from Jessica Pegula came after a social media post highlighted her steady results as she reached a seventh consecutive semifinal dating back to the 2025 US Open earlier this week. The Buffalo, N.Y. native had acknowledged the run had not produced the trophy she wanted. That changed on Saturday in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships final.

After surviving two earlier matches that went the distance, Pegula produced a clearer performance in the title match, beating seventh-seeded Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-4 in 63 minutes. The world No. 5 dropped serve only once and claimed 73 percent of her points at the line to close out the victory.

“It’s a great birthday present for me. Just super happy to go home with a trophy,” she said during the trophy presentation.

Pegula, 31, who turns 32 on Tuesday, now has 10 career WTA titles. Four of those titles are at the WTA 1000 level, and this was her first 1000-level win away from North American hard courts. The 31-year-old has won 13 of 15 matches to open her 2026 season and remains on Coco Gauff’s heels to be the No. 1-ranked American.

Svitolina, seeded seventh in the event, likewise arrived at Dubai with strong form. She departs the tournament with a 15-3 start to the year that included a title in Auckland and three subsequent Top 10 victories.

“Unfortunately didn’t find the ways to put her off balance. I think she played a wonderful match,” the Ukrainian said in press. “She was striking the ball perfect. Played really solid match. ]

© 2026 Robert Prange

Elina Svitolina survived a 3-hour, 3-minute semifinal to defeat Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-7 (13), 6-4 and advance to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships final. The two-time Dubai champion required six match points to finally close out the match and will meet Jessica Pegula for the title.

“Fight like Ukraine” was how Elina Svitolina signed the camera after a three-hour, three-minute battle with Coco Gauff, and fight she did to ultimately emerge victorious, 6-4, 6-7 (13), 6-4, and reach the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships final.

On court after the match Svitolina reflected on what drives her resilience. “It’s very special to see so many flags,” Svitolina said on court after the match. “I’m fighting all the time, and when I’m down and I feel all those emotions, I try to keep in my mind that there are really difficult times that Ukraine is going through. I’m really lucky to be here performing and representing Ukraine, so I try to do it in a decent way.”

Svitolina overcame the disappointment of losing four match points in the second-set tiebreaker and reversed the momentum late in the decider. The turning moment arrived in the penultimate game when she won a marathon point, then secured her sixth break of the match to seal the victory just over three hours after the start.

“Coco is such a big fighter,” praised Svitolina, who will next face Gauff’s countrywoman Jessica Pegula in the final “I was expecting that she would come back in the match. She’s won so many big finals, big tournaments. For sure, I had to keep fighting to keep pushing and I was just trying to win that match. I’m very pleased with the fight and very pleased with the win today.”

Standing between Svitolina and a WTA 1000 title is Pegula, who advanced after her own semifinal victory over Amanda Anisimova. Pegula came back from a set and a break down to maintain a perfect 5-0 head-to-head against last year’s Wimbledon and US Open finalist and move into the championship match. “It’s really, really special to be in the final again after a few years, of course, and to have another chance to lift that beautiful trophy,” said Svitolina, who returned to the Top 10 for the first time since becoming a mother earlier this year.