Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek recently pulled out of the Dubai Open, joining Naomi Osaka in a high-profile withdrawal from the event. Reacting to this, fans slammed the ‘very, very stupid’ WTA schedule that forces players to compete in back-to-back WTA 100 events.
February marked a packed month for the 2026 WTA calendar. The Australian Open concluded on February 1, and top players were rushed to Doha a week later for the Qatar Open, a WTA 1000 event scheduled between February 8 and 14. Following the Qatar Open on the calendar is yet another 1000 event, the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, which takes place between February 15 and 21. Given the packed schedule, several top players, including Osaka, Sabalenka and Swiatek have withdrawn from the competition in Dubai.
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Reacting to the news of top players pulling out of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, one fan on Reddit slammed the WTA schedule, writing,
“WTA scheduling is very very stupid… two masters events back to back right after a slam is terrible. Minimum should be two weeks imo, like Canada and Wimbledon’s gap.”
Another fan chimed in with a similar opinion to say,
“It wouldn’t be surprising if half of the top 10 skipped it and prepared for IW. We can see the mess Doha is, a week after AO there was just not enough time to recover.”
Here is how other tennis enthusiasts reacted to Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek joining Naomi Osaka in withdrawing from the Dubai Open:
“Doha and Dubai used to alternate as a WTA 1000 until like a year ago. Making them both 1000s every year was a horrendous move,” one fan wrote.
“Sandwiching them between AO and Indian Wells seems like a pretty bad idea. Doha and Dubai are easily the least-essential “big” events of the year,” another added.
“I’m amazed at how bad the attendance is for these middle east 1000s. They should give them to places with bigger tennis support but money talks I suppose,” a Reddit user opined.
“There’s no reason to have 2 Masters back to back immediately after a Slam,” yet another fan stated.
Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka to return to action at Indian Wells
After skipping the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka will now return to action at the Indian Wells Open.
Sabalenka and Osaka were last seen on court at the Australian Open. The reigning World No.1 claimed a second consecutive runners-up finish in Melbourne, while Osaka was forced to pull out of her third-round encounter due to an injury. Meanwhile, Swiatek was recently in action at the Qatar Open, where she suffered a quarterfinals exit after losing to Maria Sakkari.
Up next, the Indian Wells Open is scheduled to take place between March 4 and 15. The WTA 1000 event will feature several other top players including Amanda Anisimova, Mirra Andreeva, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina and more.
Edited by Riddhi Acharya