The Qatar TotalEnergies Open will mint a new WTA 1000 champion on Saturday when Jelena Ostapenko and Amanda Anismova face off for the first WTA 1000 title of the new season. 

Both women have been in imperious form this week. To make her third WTA 1000 final and first of the season, Ostapenko slammed the door on World No. 2 Iga Swiatek's title defense in the semifinals. Having beaten No. 4 Jasmine Paolini in the Round of 16, this is the first time Ostapenko has scored two Top 5 wins at a single tournament in her career. 

Doha is Anisimova's second WTA 1000 final in the past six months and the 23-year-old American had to do some heavy lifting to do it. She bested five Top 30 players this week, including No. 10 Paula Badosa. 

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Here's what you need to know about the Doha final:

When is the final? 

The Qatar TotalEnergies Open is the first of 10 WTA 1000 tournaments on the Hologic WTA Tour. The singles and doubles finals will be played on Saturday, Feb. 15, at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex.

Championship Saturday will kick off at 3:30 p.m. AST with the doubles final. The singles final will follow at 6 p.m. (10 a.m. ET). 

Doha is on Arabia Standard Time (GMT +3).

What are the points and prize money at stake?

By advancing to the final, Ostapenko and Anisimova have each assured themselves $351,801 and 650 PIF WTA Ranking points. 

Saturday's winner will add to that haul, taking home a total prize money check of $597,000 and 1,000 points. 

Both Ostapenko and Anisimova will return to the Top 30 on Monday. The champion will surge inside the Top 20, and Anisimova will have the chance to make her Top 20 debut. The American reached her career-high ranking at No.21 in 2019. Ostapenko  reached her career-high at No.5 in 2018.

How did Ostapenko and Anisimova get here?

No. 37 Ostapenko came into the tournament on a three-match losing streak. Her sole win this year came over Magdalena Frech in the first round of the Adelaide International. She has proceeded to storm through the draw in Doha, defeating Aoi Ito, Liudmila Samsonova, No. 4 Jasmine Paolini, Ons Jabeur, and No. 2 Iga Swiatek. She has not lost a set. 

With her wins over Paolini and Swiatek, Ostapenko has beaten two Top 5 players in a single tournament for the first time in her career. 

Six months after making her first WTA 1000 final in Toronto last summer, No. 41 Anisimova is into her second. She came into Doha with a 3-2 record on the nascent season, highlighted by a run to the Hobart International quarterfinals. She emerged out of the top half by navigating a deceptively tough draw, defeating five Top 30 players: former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, No. 10 Paula Badosa, Leyla Fernandez, Marta Kostyuk and Linz champion Ekaterina Alexandrova. 

Anisimova has now made the final in two of her past four WTA 1000 appearances. It is a remarkable breakthrough for a player who took an eight-month hiatus in 2023 for mental health reasons.

How do they stack up?

Head to Head

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Doha: Ostapenko overcomes Anisimova, extends winning streak to 7

Ostapenko and Anisimova have played each other just once, but that match was played in Doha three years ago. Facing each other in the second round, Ostapenko prevailed in a tight duel, winning 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. 

What milestones are at stake on Saturday?

Saturday's winner will be the lowest-ranked champion in Doha, eclipsing Petra Kvitova (2018) and Elise Mertens (2019), who were both ranked No. 21.

Ostapenko is bidding to win her ninth career WTA title and first of the season. Victory in Doha would deliver the 27-year-old her first WTA 1000 title. She is 0-2 in WTA 1000 finals, losing to Carla Suarez Navarro at 2016 Doha and Sloane Stephens at 2018 Miami. She is 8-8 in WTA finals and has won her last three: 2023 Birmingham, 2024 Adelaide and 2024 Linz.

Anisimova is trying to win her third WTA title and first in over three years. Both her titles have come at the WTA 250 level, at 2022 Melbourne 250 and 2019 Bogota. She is 2-2 in WTA finals. 

What are they saying? 

Ostapenko: "I was working hard in the preseason, and I feel like a few matches [this year] didn't really go my way, but I was already very close in those matches. I feel like now things are going more my way, and I'm more consistent on the court, and I'm just doing what I have to do and play aggressive."

Anisimova: "I'm still only 23, so to look back, I was here five years ago, I was still really young. I think I've just had a lot more experience, a lot more match play, which obviously helps. Playing these tough matches, it's very physical out there. I think that having a couple years of the experience of playing on these big courts against big players has really helped me transform into the player I am today, and, yeah, I think I've had a good week here overall and I'm just happy with it."

Aniismova: "She's been playing some lights-out tennis this week, definitely a tough player to play. But I'm sure it will be a fun match, I'm looking forward to it. The only time I played her was actually here, I lost that match, it was a tough one, so, yeah, I'm sure it will be a battle, and I'm looking forward to it."

Ostapenko: "Just play my game, stay aggressive, and don't be hard on myself and just enjoy, because it's a great week, and it's great to be in the finals, especially here in Doha."