Big seeds fall on action-packed Wednesday as Sabalenka, Paolini and Pegula all crash out in Round of 16

Unseeded Dane Clara Tauson shocks World No1 Aryna Sabalenka to reach first WTA 1000 quarterfinal, while reigning champion Jasmine Paolini limps out at hands of wildcard Sofia Kenin

World No2 Iga Swiatek survives on day of surprises, but fifth-seed Jessica Pegula goes home early after losing in straight sets to Czech youngster Linda Noskova

Dubai, UAE – February 20, 2025: Out of sorts and out of the tournament, World No1 Aryna Sabalenka exited the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Wednesday night following a 3-6, 2-6 defeat to unseeded Clara Tauson of Denmark. And the Belarusian was far from the only top seed to fall too, with reigning champion Jasmine Paolini, World No5 Jessica Pegula, and World No9 Emma Navarro all crashing out to unseeded opponents.

Tauson, the World No38, claimed the biggest scalp though, with her emphatic win against three-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka seeing the 22-year-old progress to a WTA 1000 quarterfinal for the first time in her career. Sabalenka, in contrast, has now failed to reach the last eight in Dubai from six of her nine attempts.

Dominating the Belarusian for close to an hour and a half, Tauson served seven aces, broke her opponent’s serve six times, and resolutely held the lead from as early as the third game. The Dane’s victory came just a month after suffering a third-round loss to Sabalenka at the Australian Open.

Watch: Clara Tauson Post-Match Interview

“Last time I had my chances too, but didn’t take them,” Tauson said on Centre Court after taking her record against Top 10 players to 2-8. “This time I felt really free and knew that she had to beat me; I was the underdog all the way, so I really enjoyed my time on court and I’m just really looking forward to my next one.”

Sabalenka congratulated her opponent, but was quick to lay blame squarely on herself. “[Clara] played great tennis, and I didn’t play my best,” said the three-time Grand Slam Winner. “That’s it. She had a bit more preparation and was hungrier than me. Well done to her; not very well done to me.”

Sabalenka added she needs to rethink her approach to the Middle East swing – which incorporates tournaments in Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Dubai – after a series of disappointments in recent years. A winner in Qatar in 2020, the 26-year-old followed it up with victory in Abu Dhabi the following year but lost her first game in both Doha and Dubai last year and failed to show anything close to her best tennis at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium this week.

“I’d say that for the last couple of years, I’m not doing well in the Middle East,” she admitted. “I believe we need to change something in the preparation [because] even health-wise I’m struggling. Australia always takes a lot of energy out of me. I believe we just need to think with the team for the future how we can improve or get better in the preparation for the Middle East.”

Browse: Photos: WTA Day 4 action at the 2025 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships

Tauson will now face World No35 Linda Noskova in the quarterfinals after the 20-year-old Czech beat fifth seed Pegula in straights sets 6-3, 7-6 (8). The victory marked Noskova’s eighth Top 10 win and third Top 5 win, and she did it the hard way, saving two set points in the second-set tiebreak to defeat her American opponent and advance to her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal.

The winner of that match will face either Karolina Muchova, who defeated American McCartney Kessler 6-3, 6-1,7-6 (5), or Romania’s Sorana Cirstea, who beat Navarro 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-5.

Meanwhile on the other half of the draw, No4 seed Paolini lost to wildcard Sofia Kenin 6-4, 6-0 after breaking down in tears with an injury to her right ankle injury during the second set. The Italian – whose win here last year prompted a breakthrough season – called a medical timeout and had her ankle immobilised, but could not challenge Kenin, who now faces World No7 Elena Rybakina.

Rybakina saved six match points before closing out a dramatic 4-6, 7-6(8), 7-6(2) victory against No9 seed Paula Badosa. The Kazakh fought back from 6-3 down in a second-set tie-break, while Badosa also spurned two match points on Rybakina’s serve at 6-5 in the decider.

“Crazy match!” said Rybakina. “Really happy that I won it. I had a lot of chances before to finish the set or go more up in the score, but when it was already match points for her, I had nothing to lose so I was just playing point-by-point. Somehow [I] managed to make it even then played better in the important points, especially on the tiebreak.”

The winner of Kenin-Rybakina will expect now to face World No2 Iga Swiatek, who immediately became the tournament favourite following Sabalenka’s elimination. The Pole – a five-time Grand Slam winner – avoided an upset against Dayana Yastremska, overpowering her Ukrainian opponent 7-5, 6-0 and will face 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva in the Elite Eight on Thursday.

Andreeva had been forced to play two matches in one day after her second-round tie on Tuesday was cancelled because of rain. After beating 2022 finalist Marketa Vondrousova 7-5, 6-0 in the morning on Court Three, she took to Centre Court in the afternoon to face American Peyton Stearns. Stearns had also played earlier in the day, defeating World No8 Qinwen Zheng, who complained of cramp in her fingers, but she was not match for Andreeva, who comfortably dominated her opponent to win, 6-1, 6-1.

“It was tough to play two matches in one day,” said Andreeva. “The rain decided that though, so we had no choice. I just tried to stay active after my first match and I’m really happy with my win.”

On the prospect of facing World No2 Swiatek, Andreeva added: “Of course, it’s going to be an entertaining match. It’s never easy to play against a top player. I’ve played against her once in Cincinnati, and I think that was a good match, considering that it was the first time I played against her. I already know what to expect from her and I think she knows what to expect from me. I hope that we can put on a great game and we’re going to see who will be stronger.”

The 25th edition of the annual WTA 1000 event is running until February 22, before the 33rd staging of Dubai’s ATP Tour 500 tournament takes place from February 24 to March 1. Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free and held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Tickets are available online at Ticketmaster and dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com and directly from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium Box Office from 9am-9pm daily.