Days after losing to Jelena Ostapenko in Doha, a bruised Iga Swiatek takes on veteran Victoria Azarenka at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Azarenka, who turned back time with her incredible comeback victory over Anhelina Kalinina in Monday’s tournament opener to seal victory after two hours and fifty-two minutes, is in her way in Tuesday’s second-round match.
Match preview
Despite losing the first set to Kalinina 6-2 and falling behind 5-2 in the second, Azarenka managed to tie the match by winning the second set. However, she wasn’t finished, as demonstrated by her ability to repeat the trick in the final, even though the Ukrainian was only one point away on serve from taking a 4-0 lead in set three.
After losing early to eventual champion Amanda Anisimova last week, the 35-year-old Belarusian then turned the tide and won six of the following seven games to win the set 6-4 and avoid an unexpected 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 victory over Kalinina. This prevented Kalinina from suffering consecutive round-one losses at the first two WTA 1000 events of 2025.
After losing to Marie Bouzkova in Brisbane, Lucia Bronzetti at the Australian Open, and Anisimova in Qatar, as well as losing tournament opening matches in Melbourne and Doha, the 21-time WTA champion was even happier that she had ended her three-match losing streak this season.
In exchange for her ninth career victory at the tournament, the 2010 runner-up will face second seed Swiatek for the fifth time; she hasn’t lost to Swiatek since their first-ever tour meeting in 2020.
It is crucial to get off to a strong start against the 22-time WTA champion, as the former world No. 1 faces Swiatek after a thrilling comeback victory. Her Polish opponent is unlikely to be as careless with a lead as Kalinina.
After losing to Marie Bouzkova in Brisbane, Lucia Bronzetti at the Australian Open, and Anisimova in Qatar, as well as losing tournament opening matches in Melbourne and Doha, the 21-time WTA champion was even happier that she had ended her three-match losing streak this season.
In exchange for her ninth career victory at the tournament, the 2010 runner-up will face second seed Swiatek for the fifth time; she hasn’t lost to Swiatek since their first-ever tour meeting in 2020.
It is crucial to get off to a strong start against the 22-time WTA champion, as the former world No. 1 faces Swiatek after a thrilling comeback victory. Her Polish opponent is unlikely to be as careless with a lead as Kalinina.
Four days after losing to Ostapenko for the fifth time in a row, Swiatek’s quest for his first title in Dubai begins. Ostapenko lost just four games to easily defeat the 23-year-old Pole (6-3, 6-1).
The Pole’s 15-match winning streak at the Qatar Open was ended by that semi-final loss, which also put an end to her attempt to win a historic four-peat at the tournament. It will be interesting to see if the disappointment shows in Tuesday’s match against Azarenka.
The second seed’s unsuccessful attempt to win a fourth title in Doha prolongs her wait for a 23rd overall title; her victory at the French Open last year was the last time she was victorious at any event.
The 23-year-old has a 12-3 record in 2025, reaching the semifinals in Australia and the final four in Doha despite a prolonged lack of success, suggesting that he will continue to be reliable in defeating the majority of opponents.
The 2024 finalist and 2023 semi-finalist in Dubai is eager to improve this year and hopes to take advantage of Ostapenko’s setback last week in the second WTA 1000 tournament, where she is vying for her first title.
So far, Victoria Azarenka has won the tournament:
Against Anhelina Kalinina in the first round 2–6, 7–6 [4] A 6-4
Iga Swiatek
First round: Goodbye
Head To Head
Doha (2024) – Quarter-final: Swiatek 6-4 6-0
Rome (2022) – Round of 16: Swiatek 6-4 6-1
Adelaide (2022) – Quarter-final: Swiatek 6-3 2-6 6-1
US Open (2020) – Third round: Azarenka 6-4 6-2
Azarenka has only won one of the seven sets she has faced Swiatek since defeating him in the third round of the 2020 US Open, highlighting the 23-year-old’ssupremacy.
The 22-time WTA champion, who has a 2-1 lead in their meetings on the hard court, is ahead 3-1 overall going into Tuesday’s match after defeating the veteran in back-to-back straight sets.
Azarenka’s 4-4 record over the past year shows that, despite her advanced age, the 35-year-old still has the competitiveness to compete against the top-10 players on the tour, despite her career 81-89 win-loss record against them.
However, two of those four victories came against Maria Sakkari in Rome and Berlin last year, while Elena Rybakina retired four games into their quarterfinal match in the German capital; Azarenka’s most recent top-10 match ended in straight sets against Aryna Sabalenka.
We predict that Swiatek will prevail in two sets.
Despite the veteran’s incredible comeback on Monday, Swiatek is expected to defeat Azarenka in three straight sets to demonstrate that Ostapenko’s loss from last week has not affected him.