World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and World No. 2 Iga Świątek withdrew from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Friday, with the main draw commencing on Sunday. Following the late withdrawals from the top-ranked players, the tournament director, Salah Tahlak, asked for strict actions against players.
In a recent interview, Tahlak lashed out at the Belarusian and the Pole, mentioning a similar incident involving Serena Williams that happened many years ago.
Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Świątek’s Withdrawals Questioned by Dubai Director
The Belarusian’s last-minute withdrawal from the WTA 1000 tournament came after she suffered a right hip injury, as reported by the tournament doctor. She had also withdrawn from the Qatar Open, which is another mandatory WTA 1000 event, which was won by Karolína Muchová against the teenager, Victoria Mboko.
Świątek, on the other hand, played her last match in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open, where she lost against Maria Sakkari. She withdrew from the Dubai event, citing a “change of schedule,” taking a short break before entering the following tournaments.
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These late withdrawals weren’t welcomed by the DDF Championship tournament director, Tahlak, who questioned the legitimacy and asked for strict repercussions. After the draw ceremony on Saturday, he spoke aggressively against the two top-ranked players’s ‘unfortunate’ decisions, saying:
“The reasons for withdrawal were a bit strange. I think there should be a harsher punishment.” He then analysed the reasons cited by the two players, saying, “I even asked the [tournament] doctor, what is the injury? He said it’s a minor injury, not one that would force her (Sabalenka) to withdraw from the tournament. And for Iga, I asked, ‘Isn’t this a strange decision?’ I think a fine will not do anything,” Tahlak continued.
The director does not want to stop at imposing a fine; he wants even stricter punishments that would set an example in front of the tennis world. He then mentioned the incident when American legend Williams was once fined $100,000 due to her withdrawal from the 2013 Dubai Tennis Championships. She was actually fined $50,000 and received a “zero pointer” for the tournament, with Tahlak urging WTA to take action against the American and Victoria Azarenka, who also withdrew the same year.
However, a financial fine isn’t enough, according to the director, as he thinks that the players can make $1,000,000 by playing elsewhere. “I feel they should deduct points from the players. A monetary fine won’t help,” Tahlak said. “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 (of this tournament).”
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Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Main Draw After Sabalenka, Świątek’s Withdrawal
World No. 3 Elena Rybakina enters the tournament as the top seed, followed by the American trio of Amanda Anisimova, Coco Gauff, and Jessica Pegula as the second, third, and fourth seeds, respectively. The Kazakh champion won the 2026 Australian Open against Sabalenka on January 31, which was the fourth consecutive Melbourne final for the Belarusian.
Świątek had a strong run at the event, reaching the quarterfinal, where she fell to the dominant serving of the Kazakh. She then competed at Qatar, where she again couldn’t go past the quarterfinals against Sakkari, who registered her fourth win against the Pole in a total of eight encounters.
Last year, Mirra Andreeva won the WTA 1000 event in Dubai, defeating Clara Tauson in straight sets to lift her first title at this level. She enters this year’s edition as the fifth seed and will be looking forward to defending her title.
