One of the third-round contests at the 2026 Dubai Tennis Championships will feature a battle between the ninth-seeded Belinda Bencic and the seventh-seeded Elina Svitolina. Bencic won her first-round match 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro and then got a walkover from Sara Bejlek in the second round to reach the third round. Meanwhile, Svitolina got a bye in the first round before winning via retirement against Paula Badosa in the second round.
Belinda Bencic vs Elina Svitolina Match Details
Date: Feb. 18, 2026
Tournament: Dubai Tennis Championships 2026
Round: Third round (Round of 16)
Venue: Aviation Club Tennis Centre, Dubai, UAE
Surface: Outdoor hard
Category:Â WTA 1000
Live Telecast: Tennis Channel, TSN, RDS, Sky Sports
Bencic vs Svitolina Head-to-Head
After five meetings, Svitolina has a 3-2 lead in the head-to-head against Bencic. The last time they played each other, the Ukrainian won 6-1, 6-2 at the Miami Open last year.
Bencic was in red-hot form at the United Cup at the beginning of the season, which included wins over top players like Jasmine Paolini, Elise Mertens, and Iga Świątek. She did have a disappointing loss to a Czech youngster, Nikola Bartůňková, at the Australian Open, losing 3-6, 6-0, 4-6, and getting knocked out in the second round in Melbourne.
Svitolina started the year with a 10-match win streak, which included the ASB Classic title and a semifinal run at the Australian Open. She had big wins over the likes of Katie Boulter, Iva Jovic, and Wang Xinyu in Auckland, while securing victories over the likes of Diana Shnaider, Mirra Andreeva, and Coco Gauff in Melbourne, before losing to Aryna Sabalenka. Before Dubai, the Ukrainian was in action in Doha, where she lost to Anna Kalinskaya in the third round.
Bencic vs Svitolina Prediction
Bencic won 76% of her first serve points, along with 48% of the second serve points, in her match against Bouzas Maneiro in the first round. The Swiss player was broken twice in the match but broke her opponent’s serve four times. She won a total of 75 points, 38 of which were winners.
Svitolina played only one set against Badosa in the previous round, winning 67% and 63% of her first- and second-serve points, respectively. She went down a break early, but was able to break back the Spaniard’s serve twice to win the set. She won a total of 33 points in that set, 10 of which were winners from her racquet.
More: Despite ‘Desperate’ Attempt, Belinda Bencic Forced To Forgo 500 Points After Abu Dhabi Move
Both Bencic and Svitolina have strong records in Dubai, with the Swiss winning the title in 2019 and the Ukrainian clinching it in 2017 and 2018. Moreover, both players met in the semifinals of the 2019 edition, which Bencic won en route to the title, giving her a slight edge in the upcoming match.
Pick- Bencic to win in three sets
