The Dubai Tennis Championships was the scene of numerous upsets in its WTA 1000 tournament this year.
Ultimately, 17 year old Mirra Andreeva lasted the journey to become champion. In a way, this result was also an upset as Andreeva came in as No. 12 seed. But she played as if she owned the place.
In the quarter finals, she easily saw off No. 2 seed Iga Świątek in straight sets then won a three-setter against the 6th seed, Elena Rybakina. In the final, normality was restored when she beat unseeded Clara Tauson, 7-6(1) 6-1.
McCartney Kessler defeated (3) Coco Gauff 6-4 7-5 in the second round
In February of 2020, McCartney Kessler was ranked 1235 in the world. Since then she has been on a continual upwards trajectory to her ranking of 56 at time of Dubai.
Hailing from the University of Florida, Kessler made her WTA debut at the age of 24 after qualifying for the Auckland Open in January 2024.
That year she won a W100 title in Landisville and a 125 in Puerto Vallarta. In other tournaments, she mostly lost in the first round, having entered on a wild card, by qualifying or being called on as a Lucky Loser. But she had a breakthrough in August, beating top seed Beatriz Haddad Maiain in Ohio at the WTA 250 Tennis in the Land.
Kessler has flourished in 2025. At the Hobart International, she defeated four seeds to take the title, including top seed Dayana Yastremska and the finalist, 2nd seed Elise Mertens.
But something really clicked in Dubai. Firstly, she beat Amanda Anisimova who has been ranked as high as 16; then overcame Coco Gauff, the third best player in the world, in straight sets. Although she lost in the next round, she led 14th seed Karolina Muchová 5-3 in the third set. The Czech’s eight aces to none helped her secure victory, 6-3 1-6 7-6(5), in a tough 190 minutes.
Peyton Stearns defeated (7) Zheng Quiwen 3-6 6-4 6-4 in the second round
Peyton Stearns began to make an impression on the tour in 2023 when she was a finalist at Copa Colsanitas in Colombia. In 2024, she played made the final of another WTA 250, also on clay, at Morocco’s Rabat Grand Prix. This time she won, claiming her first main tour title.
Also last year, she reached the third rounds of Roland Garros and the US Open. Other than her Rabat title, the highlight of her year was making the quarter final of a WTA 1000, although two of her seeded opponents, Madison Keys and Victoria Azarenka, were forced to retire during their matches.
Stearns entered Dubai at her highest ranking of No. 46.
She beat Ons Jabaur, now ranked 32 and unseeded, in Round 1, then faced Chinese player Qinwen Zheng, who has been in the top 10 for over a year. Zheng served 12 aces to none but it was not enough as Stearns actually won more points on serve and after two hours and 21 minutes came away with a 3-6 6-4 6-4 win.
It was her first win against a top 10 player.
She left the tournament in the next round at the hands of eventual champ Andreeva, with just a game in each set.
Sofia Kenin defeated (4) Jasmine Paolini 6-4 6-0 in the third round
Five years ago, Sofia Kenin was the No. 4 ranked player in the world, shortly after winning the Australian Open. The American is currently ranked 37 as she steadily makes her way back from injuries that saw her dip as low as 235 in late 2022.
Entering the Dubai tournament on a wild card, Kenin upset 16th seed Donna Vekic in straight sets on the first day. Next she was tested by unseeded Marta Kostyuk, 5-7 7-6(7) 7-6(5), before fronting Italy’s Jasmine Paolini.
On paper Kenin’s easy victory over defending champion Paolini looks more of an upset than it actually was.
Her win was aided considerably by a severe ankle sprain Paolini suffered in the first game of the second set. The pain left the Italian in tears for the reminder of the match as she refused to retire. Subsequently, she and regular partner Sara Errani withdrew from their second round doubles match, granting a walkover to their opponents – remarkably, one of three walkover results in that doubles round of eight matches.
Kenin’s adventure was halted in the quarter finals by Elena Rybakina, 6-2 7-6(2).
Linda Nosková defeated (5) Jessica Pegula 6-3 7-6(8) in the third round
Linda Nosková was a top junior player, winning the champion’s trophy in the juniors tournament at Roland Garros.
The Czech obtained her best career results at the 2024 Australian Open where she made the quarter finals, then later in the year, when she won her only WTA event, defeating New Zealand’s Lulu Sun at the 500 Monterrey Open in Mexico.
Ranked 35 at the commencement of the Dubai Tennis Championships, Nosková began by defeating her doubles partner Yulia Putintseva – with whom she made the quarterfinals – only to come up against No. 5 seed Jessica Pegula next round.
It was not only the precision of Nosková’s ground strokes that won her the match but her accurate drop shots and lobs. In the following set, Pegula forced a tiebreak but Nosková foiled a second set point against her at 8-7. Soon she had a second match point at 9-8 and seized it.
The next round was not as happy for Nosková as she came across a rampaging Clara Tauson. The Dane had crushed world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka for the loss of only five games in the previous round.
Nosková put up more of a fight than had Sabalenka, but Tauson still got past her in straight sets, 7-6(4) 6-4.
Clara Tauson defeated (1) Aryna Sabalenka 6-3 6-2 in the third round
The biggest upset of the tournament was provided by Clara Tauson in her defeat of Sabalenka.
To overpower Sabalenka is a remarkable achievement, as is maintaining the lead throughout the match from 2-1 in the first set.
Aside from the final against Andreeva, where Tauson tired and seemingly nursed a glute injury, the way she played in Dubai raised questions about the results she could have achieved in her career so far, but for constantly contending with a variety of injuries.
When her body permitted, she has won three WTA titles. In 2021 she won two indoor hardcourt WTA 250 events, Lyon and Luxembourg.
It took until January this year before Tauson added another 250 title, the Auckland Classic. An outdoor event, rain postponed matches so that in just one day, Tauson was compelled to play her quarterfinal against No. 1 seed Madison Keys (who went on to win the Australian Open); and having won that, a semi against Robin Montgomery, as well as a doubles semi with Sloane Stephens. That she lost only the doubles was a great effort.
The final was decided in one set, won by Naomi Osaka before she retired due to an abdominal injury and handed the win to Tauson.
It can only be hoped that Tauson will remain injury free for the rest of the year to again show the sort of form she produced against Sabalenka in Dubai.
Title photo of Clara Tauson after beating Aryna Sabalenka in Dubai by Jürgen Hasenkopf