The Dubai event marks the second WTA 1000 event of the 2025 tennis season and it is also the second leg of the Middle East WTA 1000 swing after the Qatar Open.

Jasmine Paolini is the defending champion and she will be seeded fourth for the tournament, but here we look at some intriguing pieces of the puzzle in Dubai.

When and where does the 2025 Dubai Tennis Championships take place?

The Dubai Tennis Championships starts on Sunday 16 February and comes to a conclusion on Saturday 22 February at the outdoor hard courts of the Aviation Club Tennis Centre in the United Arab Emirates.

The 2025 tournament is the 25th edition of the women’s event and it marks the third year in a row that it is a permanent WTA Tour 1000 tournament (it previously alternated with Qatar).

The total financial commitment for the 56-player singles tournament and 28-player doubles event is $3,654,963.

Points structure: Winner 1000 points, runner-up 650 points, semi-finalists 390 points, quarter-finalists 215 points, 120 points round of 16, 65 points round of 32 and 10 points round of 64.

Eight players will come through qualifiers, four will enter via wildcards while the top eight seeds will have byes into the second round.

What happened at the 2024 tournament?

Iga Swiatek was hunting the Middle East double after winning the Qatar title the previous week, but her journey was ended by qualifier Anna Kalinskaya in the semi-final.

Kalinskaya won in straight sets to set up a final against another surprise package in Jasmine Paolini and it was the Italian who won the title as she notched up a 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 victory to secure the biggest title of her career.

Kalinskaya also beat Coco Gauff in the quarter-final while second seed Aryna Sabalenka was upset by Donna Vekic in the third round.

Who will compete in the UAE in 2025?

World No 4 Paolini will be back to defend her title while world No 1 Sabalenka, No 2 Swiatek and No 3 Gauff and No 5 Jessica Pegula will also be in action.

The other big names who will feature are Elena Rybakina, Zheng Qinwen, Paula Badosa, Mirra Andreeva and Belinda Bencic (who used her protected ranking to enter). Ons Jabeur will also return as her ranking of 39 was enough for a direct entry.

Who will not compete at the 2025 Dubai event?

2025 Australian Open winner Madison Keys will once again be the biggest absentee as she is still recovering from a hamstring injury. She also didn’t feature last year due to a shoulder injury.

Fellow American Danielle Collins is also out with a foot injury, reigning Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova has a back injury while Kalinskaya will also be absent (unspecific reason).

As things stand, Emma Raducanu and Naomi Osaka didn’t make the cut for direct entries, but the former could still get a wildcard into the main draw. Osaka, though, is out injured so won’t feature.

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When will the draw take place?

The draw is scheduled for Saturday, 15 February at 1pm local time (09:00 GMT).

Can Iga Swiatek replace Aryna Sabalenka at No 1 after the tournament?

It is a case of wait and see as it depends on what happens in the final few matches of the Qatar Open.

The current status in the Live Rankings has Sabalenka on 8,956 points after her early exit while Swiatek is on 7,985 points ahead of her quarter-final.

If Swiatek wins the title then she will move to 8,770, leaving Sabalenka with a 186-point lead.

Sabalenka, though, is defending only 65 points in Dubai while Swiatek will drop 390 points so everything depends on Swiatek’s performance in Qatar.