Aryna Sabalenka, the world number one, Iga Swiatek, five-time Grand Slam winner and Dubai champion Jasmine Paolini – all of the top 10 WTA players in the world – head a celebrity line-up of athletes for the landmark 25th anniversary Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships’ women’s event.
Paolini has enjoyed the best season of any Italian woman in WTA rankings history as the four-times champion holds the record as the highest-ranked female in WTA history, taking her second career title in Dubai, finishing runner-up at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, before lifting with Italy in doubles at the Paris Olympics and in Malaga.
Sabalenka was also just named WTA Player of the Year for the first time after picking up four wins in 2024, a second Australian Open and first US Open titles. She’s gotten off to a flying start since she has overtaken Swiatek at the top after she was beaten in straight sets by world number three Coco Gauff in Saudi Arabia’s season-end final.

Managing Director of Dubai Duty Free and Chairman of the tournament Organising Committee Ramesh Cidambi said: It is an honour to welcome the world’s finest WTA players back to Dubai once again.
“It’s an historic event this year because the WTA Championships in Dubai turns 25 years old,” Cidambi added. “The tournament’s permanent WTA 1000 status last year proves just how great of an event it always gets and the fact that all the top 10 players in the world have already been announced to play for the tournament means that Dubai remains a standout on the world tennis map”.
A second Dubai winner, Barbora Krejcikova, is another for the WTA 1000, as will World No 5 Qinwen Zheng – who won China’s first tennis singles gold medal at the Paris Olympics earlier this year.
The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium will also see Daria Kasatkina (runner-up in Dubai in 2018) and Jessica Pegula (runner-up here in 2023).

Tournament Director and Deputy Managing Director of Dubai Duty Free, Salah Tahlak, added: “It’s an honour to see some of the world’s best women’s players here in Dubai at this incredible moment in this tournament history. “Our WTA event gets bigger and better each year and 2025 is going to be different.”
While a full male roster is poised to make a splash at the 33rd edition of the ATP Tour event. emirate’s historic tennis tournaments will again be held in conjunction with each other with the WTA week starting on 16 February and then the ATP tournament immediately after on 24 February.
Tickets are on sale at dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com and ticketmaster.ae.
Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is a company of Dubai Duty Free, organized by Dubai Duty Free and sponsored by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.