Sabalenka, Swiatek head Middle East entry lists; Keys out of Doha

World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka and No.2 Iga Swiatek head the entry lists for the two upcoming WTA 1000 events in the Middle East, the Qatar TotalEnergies Open (starting on Feb. 9) and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships (starting on Feb. 16).

The top two players in the world are joined by the entire Top 10, as of the cutoff PIF WTA Rankings of Jan. 13: Coco Gauff, Jasmine Paolini, Zheng Qinwen, Jessica Pegula, Elena Rybakina, Emma Navarro, Barbora Krejcikova and Daria Kasatkina.

Freshly crowned Australian Open champion Madison Keys has withdrawn from Doha due to a hamstring injury, though the American remains on the Dubai entry list. Former Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins has withdrawn from both Doha and Dubai with a lingering foot injury.

Having completed the first Doha hat trick in the tournament's history last year, Swiatek will be bidding for a fourth consecutive title this year. She is one of four former champions in the main-draw entry list, alongside Victoria Azarenka (2012-13), Elise Mertens (2019) and Sabalenka (2020).

Defending Dubai champion Paolini is one of five former winners in the main-draw list, alongside Elina Svitolina (2017-18), Belinda Bencic (2019), Jelena Ostapenko (2022) and Krejcikova (2023).

Keys and Collins are the only withdrawals from either entry list to date, meaning that the last direct acceptance to Doha is McCartney Kessler (ranked No.47 as of last week) and the last direct acceptance to Dubai is Clara Tauson (ranked No.42 as of last week). Two players have entered the Dubai main draw using special rankings -- Bencic and Sorana Cirstea -- but none have used special rankings to enter the Doha main draw.

The first alternates to the 64-player Doha main draw are Anhelina Kalinina, Rebecca Sramkova, Katerina Siniakova and Ashlyn Krueger. Former World No.1 Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the alternates list, while former US Open champion Emma Raducanu is currently the 13th alternate.

The first alternates to the 64-player Dubai main draw are Marie Bouzkova, Lulu Sun, Peyton Stearns and Kessler. Raducanu is currently the 17th alternate, while Osaka has not entered.

Rybakina leads Abu Dhabi field; Vondrousova, Garcia receive wild cards

Doha and Dubai are preceded by the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, a WTA 500 event starting on Feb. 3. Defending champion Rybakina leads the entry list, and is joined by last year's runner-up Kasatkina, Ostapenko, Australian Open semifinalist Paula Badosa, 2023 finalist Liudmila Samsonova and former US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez. Former No.2 Ons Jabeur is the last direct acceptance to the main draw and the first three alternates are Sun, Elina Avanesyan and Sramkova.

Three wild cards have been awarded to 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, 2022 WTA Finals champion Caroline Garcia and Brisbane and Adelaide quarterfinalist Ashlyn Krueger. Japan's Wakana Sonobe, the 17-year-old Australian Open junior champion, has received a fourth wild card.