The 2026 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship was hit with some disappointing news days before it’s official start date when Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek announced their withdrawal from the competition.
Tennis fans in Dubai had been eagerly anticipating the chance to see the world’s top 20 women compete at this week’s event. However, the late withdrawal of world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and world No. 2 Iga Świątek has caused upset.
Sabalenka had already withdrawn from the Qatar Open and was expected to make her return in Dubai.
Just days earlier, she shared footage of herself training at Atlantis The Royal on Palm Jumeirah, before ultimately pulling out of the Dubai tournament, citing a right hip injury as the reason.
Meanwhile, Swiatek, who was defeated by Maria Sakkari in the Doha quarter-finals on Thursday, officially attributed her decision to miss the Dubai event to a scheduling adjustment.
Salah Tahlak, Director of Dubai Tennis Championships is amongst those disappointed and feels more needs to be done to stop these types of things happening at WTA events.
Tahlak said the reasons given for the withdrawals were troubling and casted doubt on whether the current system sufficiently safeguards tournaments that invest significant financial resources to stage top-tier events.
“It was an unfortunate surprise last night to get news of the withdrawal of Aryna and Iga. And the reasons for withdrawal were a bit strange. Iga said she wasn’t mentally ready to compete, while Sabalenka said she has some minor injuries,” Tahlak said following the draw ceremony on Saturday afternoon.
“I don’t know. I think there should be a harsher punishment on the players, not just fines, they should be docked ranking points.
“I even asked the doctor, what is the injury? He said it’s a minor injury, not one that would force her to withdraw from the tournament. And for Iga, I asked, ‘Isn’t this a strange decision?”
Under existing rules, top-ranked players are required to compete in all four Grand Slams, 10 WTA 1000 events, six WTA 500 tournaments and, if they qualify, the WTA Finals.
Players who withdraw due to injury are required to be examined by the tournament doctor to verify their condition. Alternatively, competitors are permitted to pull out up to three times per season for a ‘change of schedule,’ which results in zero ranking points for the event but does not carry a financial penalty.
Both Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Świątek have previously voiced concerns about the packed schedule, at times choosing to accept ranking-point penalties in order to focus on recovery and protect their long-term fitness.
“I think a fine will not do anything,” Tahlak continued. “I feel they should deduct points from the players. A monetary fine won’t help. Many years ago, Serena Williams withdrew and was fined $100,000. But what is $100,000? She would play someplace else and make $1,000,000.
“We have a meeting coming up in Rome and I want to shed light on this issue. We have a representative on behalf of the international group to speak for us with the WTA. Because it’s a shame that we’re spending these huge amounts to upgrade our facilities and in the end the players are the main part.”
