DOHA, Qatar — The 2025 Qatar TotalEnergies Open was Amanda Anisimova’s statement win at that point in her career. 

The win marked her third career singles title on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz and first at the 1000 level. Then ranked No. 41 in the rankings, the title kickstarted a 2025 season that saw the American reach two Grand Slam finals and win another 1000 title in Beijing. 

Now, she’s back in Doha ready to defend her crown this time as the No. 3 seed. With a bye, she’ll face the winner of Karolina Pliskova and Solana Sierra in the second round

“I would say I’m still the same person, the same player for most part just obviously I have the addition of a lot of experiences last year,” Anisimova said to press Sunday on media day in Doha. “I’d say I’m pretty much in the same place and kind of mindset as I was last year.

“I feel like I was in a really good place when I got here last year. Also I learned a lot of lessons and I had a lot of great matches that adult to me coming into this tournament.”

Anisimova comes to the Qatari capital after a quarterfinal run at the Australian Open, her first time advancing that far at the event, though it came in a tough 2-6, 6-7 (1) loss to Jessica Pegula. Still, she said she was pleased with the run in Melbourne, and added that she’s been able to see the things she’s worked on being successfully implemented in practices.

Last year in Doha, Anisimova raced through the draw, winning four of five matches in straight sets. Her quarterfinal match against Marta Kostyuk was her biggest test, but she prevailed in a comeback 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 win.

“It was really great for me to have won that title last year,” Anisimova said. “I feel like that gave me that kind of boost of confidence that I know I’m capable of doing it, and capable of playing big matches. I felt like it was a very physical week for me, and just being able to make it through and get past the finish line was really special and important for me as I developed as a player throughout the course of last year.

“I can always look back on that in any moments of doubt that I have, or just when I need a little bit of a boost of reminding myself of what I’m able to do. I feel like winning this title here is a really good memory for that.”

Rybakina’s recovered and recharged

Fresh off her second career Grand Slam title at the 2026 Australian Open, World No. 3 Elena Rybakina quickly made the trip back home in Dubai for a few days rest — and partial celebration — before a quick flight to Doha. 

“Of course we tried to celebrate after the match a little bit with the team,” Rybakina said to reporters. “It’s been not much time since Australian Open, but I had some time to rest. I think it’s good for me to start here, to still try to keep the momentum, and hopefully I can play well here.”

Rybakina said she picked up a small cold on the way home, but she was able to rest and recover for the Qatar TotalEnergies Open. Her Australian Open celebrations were limited with the cold, but she primarily enjoyed time with her team and exploring Melbourne with the Daphne Akhust Memorial Cup the next day.

She rides the most momentum of any player in the Doha field, but played the longest in Melbourne. Similar to Anisimova, she’ll have a bye into the second round, where she awaits the winner of Xinyu Wang and Emiliana Arango. 

“It was a long tournament in Australia, a lot of matches, and of course a lot of emotions after,” Rybakina said. “But I think we get used to this kind of schedule. We are from one tournament to go to play almost straight away another one so it’s a bit tricky.

“I had a cold, so I had to really rest a couple days and didn’t do much. But now, as I said, it’s a good momentum to try to keep going. Hopefully this week is going to be as good in Australia, but if not we have so many tournaments ahead, and there are big ones.”

Quick hits

Iga Swiatek on fixing her serve: “For sure getting the toss more stable, and twisting more. Also there are different parts of the body that you can focus on when you twist. There are some different [things] that I’m doing, but at the same time moving the elbow more back or getting the hips more.

“It’s not a change of motion, it’s just like what intentions you want to have when you do the motion. I wouldn’t call it a change. I don’t think it’s physical that much. From time to time you always have to remind yourself of stuff like that in tennis. So the same case on the backhand, the same case on the forehand. I feel like I need to focus on that more.”

Jasmine Paolini on being an Olympic torchbearer and the sport she wants to try: “I always say I want to try to ski, but I never done this before. I’m going to wait until my retirement to try that, not before, because it’s too dangerous [laughing].

“To carry the Olympic flame was a privilege, and I felt really honored to be part of the journey. I wish all the organizations, the athletes in Italy good luck for these Olympic games. It’s always good to have them at home, and I think it’s a really good thing for our country.”