The first top-10 clash at the Dubai Tennis Championships pits Elena Rybakina against Paula Badosa in Wednesday's third round.
Badosa, a Dubai resident, ended her three-match losing run at the event in round one but has now notched consecutive wins at this year's tournament and bids for a third success on the trot at Rybakina's expense in the pair's eighth meeting on the women's tour.
Match preview
Rybakina was clearly sulky after a second-round success over Moyuka Uchijima as she comes to terms with the suspension of Stefano Vukov, reportedly absent for another 12 months.
The Kazakhstani star believes the process leading to Vukov's punishment was poorly handled by the tour, though the 2022 Wimbledon champion's displeasure was not evident during Tuesday's 6-3, 6-2 success.
That round-two triumph was the 25-year-old's 10th career victory in Dubai, seeing the eight-time champion improve to 11-4 this season, days after falling at the Qatar Open last eight against Iga Swiatek at the opening WTA 1000 event in 2025.
Bidding to advance to a third consecutive quarter-final this year after Abu Dhabi, where the one-time Slam champion advanced to the semis, and Doha, where she was beaten by Swiatek, Rybakina could face defending champion Jasmine Paolini in the last eight, albeit contingent on the Italian winning her third-round match against Sofia Kenin.
That potential encounter would come 12 months after Rybakina withdrew before the pair took to the court in last year's quarter-final, and the 25-year-old possibly relishes the chance of facing the fourth seed if both players come through the next round.
The Kazakhstani cannot afford to look that far ahead against an opponent who finally notched a first success in Dubai this year after three consecutive disappointments entering the 2025 tournament.
Badosa suffered eliminations in her opening encounters against Elena-Gabriela Ruse in 2022, Liudmila Samsonova two years ago and Lulu Sun last year, the latter setback seeing the Spanish player withdraw while trailing after losing the first set.
The four-time WTA champion, who slipped to world No. 140 in May 2024 after a career-threatening back problem, has returned to the top 10 following an impressive nine months in which she claimed the title in Washington, reached semi-finals in Cincinnati, Beijing and Ningbo and the quarter-finals in Bad Homburg.
Badosa followed up Sunday's success over Sun with another straight-set triumph over Elise Mertens, dropping three games in a 6-2, 6-1 win to reach the third round in Dubai for the first time.
Although an early setback against Linda Noskova in Abu Dhabi followed the 27-year-old's semi-final run at the Australian Open before losing in the second round to eventual Doha champion Amanda Anisimova last week, the ninth heads into an eighth match-up with Wednesday's opponent after stringing two wins together for the first time since notching five Down Under, and seeks a fifth victory over Rybakina to extend her ongoing streak.
Tournament so far
Elena Rybakina:
First round: Bye
Second round: vs. Moyuka Uchijima 6-3 6-2
Paula Badosa:
First round: vs. Lulu Sun 6-3 6-4
Second round: vs. Elise Mertens 6-2 6-1
Head To Head
Miami (2023) - Round of 32: Rybakina 3-6 7-5 6-3
Indian Wells (2023) - Round of 32: Rybakina 6-3 7-5
BJK Cup (2022) - Round Robin: Badosa 6-2 3-6 6-4
Stuttgart (2022) - Round of 16: Badosa 6-2 4-6 7-6(4)
Cincinnati (2021) - Round of 16: Badosa 6-2 7-6(5)
Bucharest (2019) - Round of 32: Rybakina 7-5 7-6(4)
Moscow (2018) - Qualifying: Badosa 7-6(6) 2-6 7-5
While the top-10 players have claimed two wins apiece in hard-court match-ups, Badosa leads her head-to-head with Rybakina 4-3, even if the Spaniard once held a 4-1 advantage in their rivalry.
However, 2023 wins at Indian Wells and in Miami have seen the eight-time WTA champion cut the Spaniard's lead, and she could move level by securing victory on Wednesday.
Both women have underwhelming records against top-10 players in the last year, with Rybakina 3-5 against the elite, while Badosa is 3-8 against such opponents over the previous 12 months — four of her defeats have come against friend Aryna Sabalenka.
We say: Rybakina to win in three sets
With four of their previous seven encounters going the distance, another extended tussle could ensue in Wednesday's high-profile clash.
If Rybakina's head is in the right place, the big-serving eight-time tour winner should edge the match to record a third straight success over the ninth seed.
body check tags ::
Previews by email
