A Long and Rain-Interrupted Day in Dubai

Tuesday was a long day in Dubai, not only because of the 16 second-round matches at the WTA 1000 event but also due to inclement weather, which heavily disrupted the schedule. Rainfall caused long interruptions in several matches that had started earlier in the afternoon and delayed all the others. In some cases, matches were postponed by as much as seven hours compared to their original schedule.

Paolini’s Unusual Match Point Delay

Jasmine Paolini found herself in an unusual and somewhat amusing situation due to the rain. The reigning champion, who is defending 1,000 points this week, began her title defense against Eva Lys. As expected, Paolini was cruising toward victory when play was halted due to rain—right on match point. Leading 6-2, 6-5 and on the verge of breaking her opponent to seal the match, she had to wait a considerable amount of time just to play one final point. Once play resumed, she quickly secured her place in the third round, where she will face Sofia Kenin.

Kenin survives a thriller against Kostyuk

Kenin advanced after a dramatic three-set battle against Marta Kostyuk. The two played highly competitive sets before the Ukrainian earned two match points in the second-set tiebreak. Kenin saved both and forced a decider, which also went the distance, ultimately finishing 7-5 in the third set. The total on-court time was 2 hours and 55 minutes, plus several hours of weather-related interruptions.

Coco Gauff’s stunning exit at the hands of Kessler

The biggest surprise of the day came later in the afternoon when Coco Gauff suffered a shocking upset at the hands of her compatriot McCartney Kessler. The third seed had started the season strongly, winning nine consecutive matches before falling to Paula Badosa in the Australian Open quarterfinals. However, her Middle East swing has been disappointing, with back-to-back early exits in Doha and now Dubai.

Kessler is having a fantastic run in the UAE, securing back-to-back wins against higher-ranked American opponents. After defeating Doha champion Amanda Anisimova in the previous round, she claimed the biggest win of her career by defeating Gauff 6-4, 7-5. Kessler’s composed performance allowed her to outplay the strong favorite, who struggled with unforced errors, particularly on her forehand. As a result, Kessler generated more Pressure Points (24 to Gauff’s 16) and held firm on her own serve, saving 11 of the 16 Pressure Points she faced.

Tournament favorites cruise through

Elsewhere, the tournament favorites advanced with ease. Iga Swiatek gave Victoria Azarenka no real chances, dispatching her 6-0, 6-2. Azarenka had pulled off a near-miraculous comeback in the first round, but this time, she had no answers for the world No. 2. Aryna Sabalenka, meanwhile, rebounded from last week's shocking early exit, defeating Veronika Kudermetova 6-3, 6-4.

Elena Rybakina and Paula Badosa also secured convincing victories over Moyuka Uchijima and Elise Mertens, respectively, setting up a highly anticipated third-round clash. Jessica Pegula impressed as well, defeating Liudmila Samsonova 6-0, 6-4.

Delayed matches set up a packed Wednesday

Due to the significant delays, some matches were postponed entirely, including the much-anticipated showdown between Belinda Bencic and Emma Navarro. Their match, along with all the remaining round-of-16 fixtures, will now take place on Wednesday. Players like Bencic, Navarro, and Qinwen Zheng, who were unable to play at all on Tuesday, will need to contest two matches in one day if they want to stay in the tournament. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate this time.