In-fact the tournament contributed to 20% of her WTA 1000 title victories, alongside Swiatek’s five major title victories.

The Qatar Open will be the world number two’s first tournament since January, where Swiatek reached the Australian Open semi-finals.

Swiatek lost to Madison Keys in her semi-final, that included having a match point against the eventual champion.

The Pole will now turn her attention to a tournament where she has only ever lost one match, with Swiatek only more dominant at Roland Garros where she has won four titles.

Svetlana Kuznetsova beats Iga Swiatek at the Qatar Open 2020

Swiatek made her debut at the Qatar Open in 2020 as a 19-year-old, beating 17th seed Donna Vekic in her first match at the tournament.

This led to a first-time meeting with former world number two Svetlana Kuznetsova, who had previously reached two finals in Doha.

The 16-year differential in experience between the two players showed, as Kuznetsova beat Swiatek, 6-2 6-2, in just over an hour.

Kuznetsova, who is a former Roland Garros and US Open champion, went onto reach the semi-finals in Doha that year before losing to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka.

After having a good run at the Qatar Open, Kuznetsova would only play 10 more tournaments before losing in the first round of Wimbledon in 2021.

Despite not having an official farewell, it is now assumed that Kuznetsova’s loss to Lesley Pattiname Kerkhove at SW19 was the final match of her career.

Just eight months after her loss to Kuznetsova, Swiatek would win her first Roland Garros title and has not lost another match in Doha since.

Iga Swiatek’s 14-match Qatar Open winning streak

The Qatar Open alternated between a WTA 500/WTA 1000 event between 2014 and 2023, before it was permanently upgraded last year.

Swiatek won her second WTA 1000 title in Doha in 2022, after beating Estonian Anett Kontaveit in the final to begin a record breaking 37-match winning streak.

The following year Swiatek made even more history, dropping only five games to defend her title in dominant fashion.

While she lost more than five games in 2024, Swiatek did not drop a set en route to her third consecutive title and beat Elena Rybakina in the Doha final.

This already makes Swiatek the most successful singles player in the tournament’s history, moving ahead of Petra Kvitova, Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova and Anastasia Myskina all with two titles.

Swiatek will begin her bid for a fourth consecutive title in Doha against the winner of either Maria Sakkari or Elena Gabriela-Ruse, as she receives an automatic bye to the second round as one of the top eight seeds.

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