Dubai Tennis Championships — Prize Money, History & Past Champions

Dubai: the desert's fast hard-court prize of the WTA February swing

The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships sit among the WTA's most prestigious stops below the majors, contested on outdoor hard courts at the Aviation Club in mid-February. Founded in the 1990s, the event grew from a modest Gulf fixture into a marquee week, sharing the post-Australian Open calendar with regional neighbors — the Qatar Open in Doha and the newer Abu Dhabi Open — that fill the block before the tour crosses to the American spring hard courts at Indian Wells and the Miami Open.

The tennis here is fast and low-bouncing under desert conditions: dry air, slick night sessions, and a court speed that rewards flat hitting and clean first-strike serving over grind. It's a venue that has historically favored shotmakers who take time away rather than counterpunchers who rely on heavy spin and high margin.

The recent champion roll reflects a tour in transition. Jessica Pegula took the 2026 title over Elina Svitolina, 6-2, 6-4. The year before, a 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva edged Clara Tauson 7-6, 6-1 for a generational marker, and in 2024 Jasmine Paolini climbed back from a set down against Anna Kalinskaya, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, for the breakthrough that launched her into the top tier. Barbora Krejcikova denied Iga Swiatek 6-4, 6-2 in the 2023 final.

The throughline: four different champions in four years, no repeat winner, with first-time and youngest-ever names mixed among established stars. Dubai remains one of the deeper non-major draws on the calendar, a regular gathering point for the top eight that consistently produces title runs rather than seedings holding to form.

Past champions

Every Dubai Tennis Championships champion on The Drop Shot — 4 editions from 2023 to 2026, and Daniil Medvedev and Jessica Pegula won the most recent edition (2026).

Most Dubai Tennis Championships titles on record: Daniil Medvedev (2).