Jessica Pegula ended a strong week in the UAE by winning the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, WTA 1000 title. In the final on February 21st, she beats Elina Svitolina 6-2 6-4. Pegula was in control from the start, took the first set quickly, found the important break in the second, and finished the match with an ace to lift one of the biggest trophies of the Middle East swing.
The final was shaped by Pegula’s quick start and her calm finish. She began sharply, took control of the rallies, and kept Svitolina pushed back, so Svitolina never really got settled. That is why the first set went Pegula’s way 6-2. Svitolina tried to change it in the second set. She stayed in longer points, mixed the pace a bit, and made Pegula work harder for every game. For a while it looked like the match could stretch. But Pegula stayed steady, waited for the right moment, took the key break, and then served out the championship, ending it with an ace.
Pegula had to work hard to get to the final, especially in the semifinal against Amanda Anisimova. She got hit off the court early, lost the first set 6-1, and then went 3-1 down in the second, but she didn’t panic. She started playing longer points, kept getting the ball back, and slowly pulled Anisimova into more rallies. From there, the match turned, Pegula took it 6-4 6-3 and suddenly she was in another big final. It was also a big win because Anisimova is not just another name on the tour, she is one of the cleanest, boldest hitters around, and she had a huge 2025 season, she won two WTA 1000 titles as well, in Doha and Beijing, and she also made headlines at Wimbledon after beating Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets to reach her first Grand Slam final.
Svitolina’s semifinal was even tougher, because it was against Coco Gauff, a Grand Slam champion and one of the biggest names in the game. Svitolina won 6-4 6-7(13) 6-4, and it was a proper fight. Gauff refused to go away in the second set and dragged it into a tiebreak, she saved four match points and won it 15-13, but Svitolina stayed strong. She reset for the third set, kept competing in the long games, and got through the tight moments. When she finally served it out, you could see what it had taken out of her, it was a huge win, but it also meant she went into the final on tired legs after a match that felt like it had everything in it.
For Pegula, it was a special one personally as well, coming just days before her birthday. “Yeah, it’s a great birthday present for me. I get to celebrate by flying back home in a few hours, but I am just super happy to go home with a trophy. It was a great week,” she said. She also thanked the crowd during the trophy presentation, saying, “It was a great atmosphere, especially the last two nights. What’s most fun for us is being able to play in front of the fans, so thank you guys so much for coming out.” She added.
Svitolina, a two time Dubai champion came into the final after a heavy semifinal battle, and she admitted her body felt it. Still, she chose to focus on the bigger picture. “I had a great match yesterday. I was very happy with the way I could win that match, so I want to look on this tournament with lots of positives. I played great matches, beat good players. Of course, in a final, it was tough, but Jess is so consistent. She is a great player and really played great tennis. It is how it is. I am still happy,” she said.
Dubai matters on the women’s calendar because it is a WTA 1000 event, the kind of week where the draw is packed and every round feels like a final. For Asian tennis, it is always a key stop in the Middle East swing, because a lot of Asian players are here every year, either competing or preparing for the next part of the season. This time, the singles run from the region did not go deep overall, top seed Elena Rybakina went out in the third round, Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima exited early, and China’s Qinwen Zheng had to withdraw before the tournament because of illness. Still, Dubai remains one of the biggest stages in this swing, and weeks like this keep reminding everyone, the level is high, the margins are small, and the next breakthrough from Asia is always just one good run away.
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