Top Ten Seed, Early Game Victim

DOHA, TUESDAY — The inevitable tough opponents since the first two rounds of the WTA 1000 Doha tournament took their toll on the top 10 seeds. Five of them were eliminated in the second round.

Among those who only played once and lost straight away at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, Doha, Qatar were world number one and top seed Aryna Sabalenka. In addition, there were Cori Gauff (3), Zheng Qin Wen (7), Emma Navarro (8), and Paula Badosa (9). Except for Navarro who played Monday, the other four players were eliminated in the matches that took place on Tuesday (11/2/2025).

They lost through matches with tough opponents. For the top eight seeds, the second round became an early match because they got a bye in the first round. Only Iga Swiatek (2), Jasmine Paolini (4), and Jessica Pegula (6) were able to escape the trap in the early match.

On Tuesday, Paolini defeated US Open semifinalist and 2022 WTA Finals champion Caroline Garcia. Pegula defeated Elina Svitolina, who was in fine form a month ago, reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. A day earlier, Swiatek defeated former world No. 3 Maria Sakkari. They each won in two sets.

Unlike her three competitors, Sabalenka could not overcome the resistance of Ekaterina Alexandrova. Sabalenka's serve, which produced six aces, and powerful groundstrokes from the baseline were anticipated by Alexandrova who arrived in Doha after achieving the highest achievement in her career, namely the WTA 500 Linz title, last week. Alexandrova won with a score of 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) after a match that lasted two hours and 36 minutes.

"Playing Sabalenka for more than two hours took a lot of energy and focus. Every match against her is always difficult because Aryna is a fighter. So, before the match, I reminded myself to play my best, no matter what the result is," Alexandrova said on the official WTA website.

Before meeting Sabalenka, 2020 WTA Doha champion Alexandrova defeated 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, who was playing in Doha as a wildcard. In the third round, she will face Elise Mertens.

Sabalenka's loss on the main court came after Zheng's 6-4, 6-2 loss to Ons Jabeur. Gauff had previously been eliminated by Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 7-5 in her opening match on the court. Badosa lost to 2019 French Open semifinalist Amanda Anisimova 6-4, 6-3 in her final match on the main court.

For Jabeur, a three-time Grand Slam finalist, the win over Zheng was her first after losing her two previous meetings. Jabeur lost to the 2024 Paris Olympics women's singles gold medalist at the 2022 WTA Toronto and the 2023 US Open fourth round in two sets each.

“I faced the same pressure as the previous two meetings, but, today, I was able to handle it better,” said Jabeur, who will face Sofia Kenin in the third round on Wednesday.

Jabeur is through to the third round in Doha for the third time after reaching the quarter-finals in 2020 and 2022. Before winning the first round of the women's doubles in 2019, alongside Alison Riske, the Tunisian had lost 10 straight matches, most of them as a wildcard. Because of her wildcard status, Jabeur has always enjoyed playing in Doha, as she has been warmly welcomed by the Qatari public.

Like Jabeur, Kostyuk entered the second round with a statistical deficit to her opponent. She had lost three of her four meetings with Gauff and all three of those defeats were on hard courts like the ones at WTA Doha. This time, thanks to better performance, Kostyuk won and advanced to the third round for the first time at one of the tournaments in the Middle East.

"Coco (Gauff) is a tough competitor. We always compete in tough matches. I'm happy I did what I had to do," said Kostyuk, who will face Magda Linette in the third round.

In addition to raising her game, Kostyuk took advantage of Gauff's poor form that saw her lose in the second round of the WTA Doha for the third year in a row. The 2023 US Open champion made 39 unforced errors, seven of which were double faults.

The exits of Gauff, Sabalenka, Zheng, Navarro and Badosa open up opportunities for other players to go further, especially those in the top half of the draw. In the top half, only two seeds remain, namely Pegula and Daria Kasatkina (10) who will face each other in the third round.

The lower half of the draw should be a tighter affair. Swiatek, Paolini and Elena Rybakina have a number of tough opponents, including Jabeur, Kenin, Jelena Ostapenko and 20-year-old Linda Noskova, who will be Swiatek's third-round opponent. Despite losing to Swiatek three times, Noskova defeated the three-time WTA Doha champion in the third round of the 2024 Australian Open. (AFP)