Elena Rybakina didn't get to rest too much following her Australian Open triumph as the world No. 3 is already in Doha and has learned her possible road to winning the Qatar Open.
Without world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in Doha, the Kazakh tennis star earned the second seeding at the opening WTA 1000 tournament of the year.
On paper, Rybakina received a pretty tough Qatar Open draw, considering that all of her projected rivals are ranked inside the top-35.
After a first-round bye, the reigning Australian Open winner will likely take on world No. 33 Wang Xinyu in her opening match in Qatar before likely facing 15th-seeded Diana Shnaider.
It doesn't get any easier onward as the No. 2 seed's quarterfinal and semifinal projected opponents are No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva and No. 4 seed Coco Gauff, respectively.
If Rybakina manages to reach her second Doha final, the two names that stand as the most probably rival include top seed Iga Swiatek and third-seeded Amanda Anisimova.
🇶🇦 Doha | WTA 1000 | Main Draw pic.twitter.com/Ohk6HrO4n6
— 🩵 (@VenusGauff) February 6, 2026
Can Rybakina make it 12 wins in a row?
Heading into the Qatar tournament, the new two-time Grand Slam champion – who had a quarterfinal outing in Brisbane before landing her maiden Australian Open title – owns a 9-1 record on the year and has won her last seven matches.
As you can see above – due to a high seeding – Rybakina won't need to win six matches to claim the title, but five.
In the past, the Kazakh struggled in her opening three Qatar Open appearances, twice losing in the first round and once exiting in the round-of-16. However, that changed in 2024 when the current world No. 3 made the final at the tournament before losing to Swiatek. The Kazakh reached the quarterfinal in Qatar last year.
Rybakina has been on a tear recently and she undoubtedly enters Doha as one of the top favorites for the title.
