Women's main draw play at the 2026 Abu Dhabi Open will begin Sunday, Feb. 1. The Abu Dhabi Open is a WTA 500 level event. This outdoor hard-court tournament has a 28-player draw with byes for the top four seeds and features numerous women's tennis stars, including five top-20 players. Below are the top title contenders, dark horses and sleepers for the 2026 Abu Dhabi Open.
Favorite to Win the 2026 Abu Dhabi Open
Belinda Bencic: Bencic is the defending Abu Dhabi Open champion and No. 1 seed. She came into this tournament ranked 157th in 2025 while working her way back from maternity leave. One year later, Bencic is back in the top 10. Her exquisite timing allows Bencic to hug the baseline and effortlessly redirect the ball to stay on the front foot and move opponents around. She's one of four players with a first-round bye in this 28-player draw. Bencic's chalk opponents are No. 7 seed Jelena Ostapenko in the quarterfinals, No. 3 seed Clara Tauson in the semifinals and No. 2 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the final. None of those three players have a winning head-to-head record against the top seed.
In the Mix to Win the 2026 Abu Dhabi Open
Clara Tauson: Tauson is coming off a tough three-set loss to Victoria Mboko in the third round of the Australian Open, but the 23-year-old Dane has a lot going for her on the heels of a strong 2025 campaign that helped Tauson climb
Women's main draw play at the 2026 Abu Dhabi Open will begin Sunday, Feb. 1. The Abu Dhabi Open is a WTA 500 level event. This outdoor hard-court tournament has a 28-player draw with byes for the top four seeds and features numerous women's tennis stars, including five top-20 players. Below are the top title contenders, dark horses and sleepers for the 2026 Abu Dhabi Open.
Favorite to Win the 2026 Abu Dhabi Open
Belinda Bencic: Bencic is the defending Abu Dhabi Open champion and No. 1 seed. She came into this tournament ranked 157th in 2025 while working her way back from maternity leave. One year later, Bencic is back in the top 10. Her exquisite timing allows Bencic to hug the baseline and effortlessly redirect the ball to stay on the front foot and move opponents around. She's one of four players with a first-round bye in this 28-player draw. Bencic's chalk opponents are No. 7 seed Jelena Ostapenko in the quarterfinals, No. 3 seed Clara Tauson in the semifinals and No. 2 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the final. None of those three players have a winning head-to-head record against the top seed.
In the Mix to Win the 2026 Abu Dhabi Open
Clara Tauson: Tauson is coming off a tough three-set loss to Victoria Mboko in the third round of the Australian Open, but the 23-year-old Dane has a lot going for her on the heels of a strong 2025 campaign that helped Tauson climb up to her current ranking of No. 14. She's 1-1 against potential semifinal opponent Bencic, though the third-seeded Tauson has tricky unseeded veterans Daria Kasatkina and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in her section, as well as No. 6 seed Leylah Fernandez. There's a good chance that Tauson will be the top-ranked player in the Abu Dhabi Open field a year from now given her career trajectory, so she's certainly capable of handling the difficult draw that awaits her following a first-round bye.
Ekaterina Alexandrova: Alexandrova has gotten off to a rough start in 2026, with a 1-3 record to begin the campaign. The big-hitting No. 2 seed will try to get back on track here. After a first-round bye, she'll face either Dayana Yastremska or Beatriz Haddad Maia. No. 8 seed Paula Badosa is a potential quarterfinal opponent for Alexandrova. If Alexandrova can find the timing on her powerful groundstrokes, the world No. 11 could contend for her sixth career singles title on the WTA Tour here.
Emma Navarro: Navarro took a step back in 2025 after the breakout 2024 campaign that got her into the top 10. Having regressed back to 15th and coming off a first-round exit at the Australian Open, the athletic American could use a deep run here, though she may need to get through No. 5 seed Liudmila Samsonova in the quarterfinals. That would be an interesting clash of styles, as the fourth-seeded Navarro relies primarily on defense and consistency while Samsonova is a power hitter in the mold of Tauson and Alexandrova.
Sleepers to Win the 2026 Abu Dhabi Open
Paula Badosa: Badosa is as good as anybody in the draw when fully healthy, but the former world No. 2 and 2025 Australian Open semifinalist has dealt with myriad injuries in her career. The 28-year-old Spaniard snagged the No. 8 seed at the Abu Dhabi Open and will face compatriot Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the first round. Badosa is in Alexandrova's section of the draw.
Alexandra Eala: Eala burst onto the scene with a pair of top-10 wins en route to the semifinals of the Miami Open last year, and the 20-year-old Filipina added some deep runs at smaller tournaments as the year progressed. She has played her best tennis in fast court conditions and has shown she can go toe to toe with top players when she's on her game. Eala is currently ranked 49th, so she's unseeded at the Abu Dhabi Open. She'll face Zeynep Sonmez in the first round and could battle Badosa in the second round.
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