Unusually boring Sunday
The opening day of the main draw competition in Dubai delivered an unusually low level of excitement, making it noteworthy in itself. Out of the 12 matches played on Sunday, every single one ended in straight sets, with just one tiebreak across all the completed sets. No major upsets occurred, with only two seeded players being eliminated.
Vekic's WTA 1000 struggles
Donna Vekic continued her struggles in WTA 1000 events, suffering another early exit. This time, the Croatian was defeated by Sofia Kenin with a score of 7-5, 6-3. A shocking statistic behind this loss is that despite her remarkable career, Vekic has never advanced beyond the third round in any of her 55 appearances at the WTA 1000 level.
Anna Kalinskaya was the other seeded player to exit on Sunday. The 15th seed has struggled to find her form in 2025, and her woes continued with a heavy defeat against Elina Svitolina. The Ukrainian dominated the match, conceding only three games in a commanding 6-1, 6-2 victory.
Emma Raducanu won the most anticipated match of the day, securing a convincing victory over Maria Sakkari. The Greek player has fallen out of the seeded ranks this year and was not even considered the pre-match favorite, as the odds favored Raducanu (1.66). This prediction proved accurate, as the Brit delivered a one-sided 6-4, 6-2 triumph.
Bencic starts strong
Belinda Bencic showed no signs of fatigue from her title-winning run in Abu Dhabi, cruising past Aoi Ito with a dominant 6-0, 6-2 victory. The Swiss star now sets up an intriguing second-round clash against 8th seed Emma Navarro on Tuesday.
Doha Finalists run out of steam
Amanda Anisimova and Jelena Ostapenko, who both put in remarkable performances last week in Doha, failed to carry their momentum into Dubai. Anisimova suffered a 6-2, 6-3 defeat against compatriot McCartney Kessler, showing clear signs of fatigue after her deep run in Qatar.
Ostapenko’s exit was even more surprising, as she fell to Moyuka Uchijima in a shocking upset. The Japanese player, given a pre-match odd of 4.40, capitalized on the Latvian’s struggles. Ostapenko looked physically drained, committed 47 unforced errors, and even required medical attention to check her blood pressure between sets. Ultimately, she lost 6-3, 6-3.
Kasatkina Falls as Cirstea springs an upset
The highest seed to exit so far is Daria Kasatkina. The tournament’s 10th seed fell to Sorana Cirstea, who gained entry into the main draw via a secured ranking. On paper, this was the biggest upset of the tournament so far, with Cirstea's pre-match odds averaging 4.64. The Romanian delivered an emphatic 6-1, 6-4 victory.
Rematch hopes dashed
The main draw initially promised a high-profile second-round rematch between Ekaterina Alexandrova and world number one Aryna Sabalenka, following Alexandrova’s win over Sabalenka last week. However, the top seed will not get her chance for revenge, as she was upset by Veronika Kudermetova on Monday.
Alexandrova started well, winning the first set 6-3 and taking an early break lead in the second. But the match took a surprising turn as Kudermetova mounted a comeback, dominating the third set to claim a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory. Kudermetova scored a breakthrough win after difficult Middle East swing so far with two consecutive main draw first round loses in Abu Dhabi and Doha.
Azarenka stages a dramatic comeback
Victoria Azarenka produced the most thrilling comeback of the first round in an intense battle against Anhelina Kalinina. The former Grand Slam champion was on the brink of defeat, trailing 2-6, 3-5. Kalinina failed to serve out the match and squandered a 3-0 lead in the second-set tiebreak, allowing Azarenka to force a decider.
Despite the disappointment of letting a golden opportunity slip away, Kalinina regrouped at the start of the third set and surged to a 3-0 lead with a double break. However, the worst was yet to come for the Ukrainian, as Azarenka staged another comeback, winning all the remaining games from 2-4 down. After a grueling 2-hour, 55-minute contest, Azarenka emerged victorious, handing Kalinina a heartbreaking defeat.
Azarenka’s reward for this epic win is a second-round clash against world number one Iga Swiatek.
A thrilling Tuesday ahead
Tuesday promises to be a festival of tennis in Dubai, with all 16 second-round matches scheduled on the same day. Stay tuned for more analysis throughout the week on TennisRatio.com!
