Dubai Tennis Championships 2024 Odds: Sabalenka to shine again

The WTA Tour continues this week when all eyes will be on Dubai, which hosts the Dubai Tennis Championships for the 24th consecutive season.

Barbora Krejcikova triumphed in this 1000 Series event last season, beating Iga Swiatek in the final, but the Czech has pulled out this time around with a back injury. 

Swiatek, a winner again in the Qatar Ladies Open on Saturday, assumes her usual spot of number one seed while dual Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka is set to make her first appearance since her triumph in Melbourne in January.

Aryna Sabalenka to win Dubai Tennis Championships 2024

None of the WTA Tour's 'big four' have won this valuable title but that could change in 2024 with Swiatek, Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff all in the draw for the final event of the three-week Arabian Swing.

Rybakina won in Abu Dhabi, then Swiatek beat her in the final in Qatar, and it could be the turn of Sabalenka to claim a title in the Middle East with the Belarusian likely to be fresher than her chief rivals.

Swiatek was only required to play four matches in Doha but the Pole was unable to complete the Qatar-Dubai double last year, falling at the final hurdle of the second leg, and she could be running out of gas by the time the business end of the 2024 tournament rolls around.

With Rybakina in a similar predicament and Gauff looking short of her US Open-winning top form, it could pay to take a chance on Sabalenka being ready to go after almost a month off.

The Belarusian has yet to shine in Dubai but she travels to the UAE in better form than ever having absolutely dominated in Melbourne, winning a second title without dropping a set.

Only Rybakina has been able to stop Sabalenka this year, beating her comprehensively in the Brisbane final, but Sabalenka would likely be favourite should they meet again.

Qinwen Zheng to win Dubai Tennis Championships 2024

Swiatek is likely to take all the beating in the top half of the draw, particularly if Gauff is still struggling as she was in Qatar last week, but the each-way value could lie with Australian Open finalist Qinwen Zheng, who could tee up a final rematch with Sabalenka.

Zheng had a soft run to the Melbourne final but the 21-year-old is an improving performer who should become a more frequent contender for the biggest titles now she has top-level experience under her belt.

A winner of the 500 Series Zhengzhou Open last season, where she coincidentally defeated Dubai champion Krejcikova in the final, Zheng will fancy her chances of toppling potential last-16 opponent Daria Kasatkina, having beaten her 6-1 6-2 in Abu Dhabi a year ago.

A quarter-final meeting with Swiatek is a much tougher proposition but the sixth seed has taken a set off the Pole in two of their last three hard-court meetings so an upset can not be ruled out.

Check out the Dubai Tennis Championships 2024 odds here.