The 2026 Dubai Championships is drawing to a close after an intriguing event hit by withdrawals and retirements, but how have the WTA Rankings been affected?

The final at the WTA 1000 tournament is set, with Jessica Pegula taking on Elina Svitolina at the Aviation Club Tennis Centre on Saturday.

Here, we look at who could be the big winners and losers when the WTA Rankings are updated next week.

WTA Rankings Top 10 at start of Dubai (16 February)

1. Aryna Sabalenka – 10,870
2. Iga Swiatek, Poland – 7,803
3. Elena Rybakina, Kazakhstan – 7,523
4. Coco Gauff, United States – 6,423
5. Jessica Pegula, United States – 5,888
6. Amanda Anisimova, United States – 5,690
7. Mirra Andreeva – 4,786
8. Jasmine Paolini, Italy – 4,157
9. Elina Svitolina, Ukraine – 3,260
10. Victoria Mboko, Canada – 3,246

Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek — the top two players on the WTA Tour — both withdrew before the start of the Dubai Championships.

World No 1 Sabalenka will remain on 10,870 points as the points she earned for reaching the third round in Dubai last year were not counted towards her ranking.

Swiatek, meanwhile, will drop the 150 points she collected for making the Dubai quarter-finals in 2025, which will reduce her total to 7,653.

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World No 3 Elena Rybakina had a chance to close the gap to the top two, but she has fallen further behind after retiring in her third round match. The Kazakh will lose 270 points because was a semi-finalist in Dubai last year, taking her total to 7,253.

Coco Gauff will remain in fourth position, but she has moved closer to the top three as her run to the semi-finals has increased her points total by 380 to 6,803.

Live WTA Rankings Top 10 before Dubai final (21 February)

1. Aryna Sabalenka – 10,870
2. Iga Swiatek, Poland – 7,653
3. Elena Rybakina, Kazakhstan – 7,253
4. Coco Gauff, United States – 6,803
5. Jessica Pegula, United States – 6,418/6,768
6. Amanda Anisimova, United States – 6,053
7. Jasmine Paolini, Italy – 4,047 (+1)
8. Mirra Andreeva – 4,001 (-1)
9. Elina Svitolina, Ukraine – 3,845/4,195
10. Victoria Mboko, Canada – 3,246

Pegula will not move from the No 5 spot, but she has boosted her points total by 530 points to 6,418 as a result of her final appearance. If the American wins the final, she will move onto 6,768 points — just 35 behind Gauff.

Amanda Anisimova will stay in sixth place, with her run to the last four increasing her points tally by 363 to 6,053.

Mirra Andreeva has fallen one place to eighth in the live rankings as she has dropped 785 points, taking her total to 4,001, after her quarter-final exit. The Russian won the WTA 1000 event 12 months ago.

Jasmine Paolini lost her opening match, but she has moved above Andreeva into the world No 7 spot.

Elina Svitolina has improved her total by 585 points to 3,845 for reaching the final, but she has not moved from ninth position. If the Ukrainian lifts the title, though, she will jump to 4,195 points, which would lift her above Paolini and Andreeva into seventh place.

Victoria Mboko withdrew ahead of the tournament, and she remains in 10th spot with 3,246.

Winners outside the top 10

Iva Jovic is set to be rewarded with a two-place jump to a new career-high ranking of 18th after making the last 16 in Dubai.

Wang Xinyu (+3 to No 30), Alex Eala (+15 to No 32), Jacqueline Cristian (+6 to No 33), Janice Tjen (+9 to No 37) and Antonia Ruzic (+15 to No 51) are also projected to reach new career-best positions after their results in Dubai.

Losers outside the top 10

Sofia Kenin has slid 14 places to 44th in the live rankings after an opening round defeat in Dubai, having been a quarter-finalist in 2025.

Former world No 2 Paula Badosa is set to drop 15 places to 85th in the rankings after a second round exit.

Anastasia Potapova is -15 to world No 91, while Alycia Parks is -18 to world No 95.

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