Twelve months ago, Anna Kalinskaya arrived at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships ranked 40 in the world, ready to contest the qualifying rounds of the WTA 1000 tournament.
The Russian went on to win seven matches in a row, through qualifying and the main draw, to reach the biggest final of her career, upsetting three top-10 players en route, including the then world No 1 Iga Swiatek.
After starting 2024 ranked 75 in the world, Kalinskaya hit a career-high No 11 in October.
A virus forced her to withdraw from last month’s Australian Open but the 26-year-old is back on court feeling healthy and keen on creating even better memories in Dubai.
“It was a great week for me last year. I had so many matches, starting from qualifying, and so far it was the most matches I could play in a row and having amazing wins over top players. So that gave me a lot of confidence and a big boost of energy and positivity for the whole year,” Kalinskaya said on Saturday at the tournament’s draw ceremony.
“It was a very good time for me and hopefully I can win this week so that 2025 can be even better.”
Kalinskaya has a tricky opener this week against two-time Dubai champion and former world No 3 Elina Svitolina.
She could face top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka in the third round, with fifth-seeded Jessica Pegula looming ahead as a possible quarter-final opponent for Kalinskaya.
Following a banner year, does Kalinskaya feel more pressure operating as a top-20 player on tour?
“I feel more positive and more excited to have a better draw in some tournaments and I have more confidence, I would say,” she said.
“But of course to be at that level and to improve I need to work harder and it just gives me more… I wouldn’t say pressure but just more thoughts, reminding myself that I need to keep improving and then I can reach my goal.”
Sabalenka and Swiatek are the top two seeds at this milestone 25th edition of the WTA tournament in Dubai.
The No 1-ranked Sabalenka has a bye in the first round – as do all top-eight seeds – and must be sharp from the get-go, given she will commence her campaign against Doha semi-finalist Ekaterina Alexandrova or former top-10 player Veronika Kudermetova.
She shares the top quarter of the draw with Pegula and could face third seed Coco Gauff or eight seed Emma Navarro – who practiced with Sabalenka on centre court on Saturday – in the semi-finals.
Swiatek has been drawn to face Victoria Azarenka or Anhelina Kalinina in the second round, with the likes of Mirra Andreeva (No 12 seed), Ons Jabeur (former world No 2), and Zheng Qinwen (No 7 seed) all in her path as potential quarter-final opponents.
Defending champion and No 4 seed Jasmine Paolini is in the same quarter of the draw as No 6 seed Elena Rybakina, either one of which could come up against Swiatek in the semi-finals.
Tunisian Jabeur is coming off of a quarter-final run in Doha and will open her Dubai account against American Peyton Stearns.
British wildcard Emma Raducanu was handed a tricky opener against former world No 3 Maria Sakkari.
Meanwhile, tournament director Salah Tahlak revealed that electronic line calling will replace line judges starting from this year’s edition.
Last year, Andrey Rublev was disqualified from his semi-final after he screamed in the face of a line judge over a disputed call.
Tahlak also shared Dubai Duty Free’s plans to upgrade the tournament facilities.
Next year, Court 1 will be refurbished and will have a new capacity of 2,000 spectators. And in 2027, the main stadium will be expanded to accommodate an additional 2,500 fans, which would take its total capacity to 7,500.
First round action in Dubai begins on Sunday, with the final taking place on March 1.
