As the calendar flips from January to February, the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz flips swings.
The season’s Middle East Swing kicks off on Feb. 1 with the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, the fourth WTA 500 tournament of the season. In fact, the Middle East Swing will begin with three tournaments, as a pair of WTA 250s — the Transylvania Open and Ostrava Open — will be happening at the same time.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Abu Dhabi Open, including schedules, prize money, who’s playing and more.
When does the tournament start?
Main-draw singles action at the International Tennis Centre in Zayed Sports City kicks off on Sunday, Feb. 1, and doubles play begins the following day.
The tournament will run through Saturday, Feb. 7, when the the singles and doubles finals will be played.
Like the Australian Swing, this tournament will be played on outdoor hard courts.
How big are the fields?
Unlike the WTA 500 tournament in Brisbane, which had a 48-player singles draw, the Abu Dhabi Open only features a 28-player singles draw. There are 18 automatic entries, six qualifiers and four wild cards, and the top four seeds will receive byes into the second round.
The doubles draw includes 16 teams.
The draw will be revealed on Saturday, Jan. 31.
Who is playing?
Reigning Abu Dhabi champion Belinda Bencic leads the field, and she’ll be joined by Ekaterina Alexandrova, Clara Tauson, Emma Navarro and Liudmila Samsonova.
Leylah Fernandez and Jelena Ostapenko — both of whom are just outside the Top 20 in the PIF WTA Rankings — are also in the field.
There is also a pair of former Top 5 players in the mix. Zheng Qinwen, who missed the Australian Open following an injury-plagued 2025, is set to return to Abu Dhabi. Paula Badosa, back on the WTA Tour after missing the majority of the second half of last season, is also in the field.
Rising Southeast Asian stars Alexandra Eala and Janice Tjen are also in the main draw after receiving wild cards.
Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova was initially in the field, but she pulled out with a shoulder injury. So, too, was World No. 3 Elena Rybakina, but she withdrew after winning the Australian Open.
What are the ranking points and prize money at stake?
There’s $1,206,446 on the line in Abu Dhabi.
Below is a breakdown of the rankings points and prize money at stake in the singles draw.
Champion: $185,500 | 500 points
Finalist: $114,500 | 325 points
Semifinalists: $66,003 | 195 points
Quarterfinalists: $35,000 | 108 points
Round of 16: $18,045 | 60 points
Round of 32: $13,005 | 1 point
The doubles champions will take home $61,540.
Who are the defending champions?
Bencic’s title in Abu Dhabi last year — the second time she’s won the tournament, having first won it in 2023 — was one of the stories of the WTA Tour in 2025.
It was significant because it was the Swiss’ first title since returning from maternity leave just four months earlier. During the emotional trophy ceremony, the then-27-year-old kissed her 10-month-old daughter, Bella, and was honest about how much this moment meant to her.
“It’s tough to describe into words,” she said, looking over at Bella, her husband and trainer Martin Hromkovic. “I think only us know what we went through as a family. We are so appreciative and blessed to have Bella in our lives. And then also to be able to still do what I want to do. And then also having the good results on top of that.
“So the emotions were about feeling incredibly grateful, blessed. And just a mini dream come true.”
That title run spearheaded a remarkable season for Bencic, one that earned her WTA Comeback Player of the Year honors. She reached the semifinals of Wimbledon and added another title in Tokyo, jumping from No. 487 in the rankings at the start of the year to No. 11 by season’s end.
Bencic, now No. 10 in the world, defeated American Ashlyn Krueger in the final. Kreuger is in the qualifying draw this year.
Rybakina won the tournament in 2024, and Aryna Sabalenka — who’s not in this year’s field — won the first edition of the event in 2021.
Ostapenko and Ellen Perez are the reigning doubles champions.
