The Dubai tennis championships is a major WTA event usually played in the middle of February. This year, it is being played in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Many have still signed up for the event, but it seems like two players are going to be skipping it this year – Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka.

The above is the entry list for the Dubai Championship. As you can see, many of the big names like Bianca Andreescu, Victoria Azarenka, Garbine Muguruza have given their entries. But Osaka and Williams are missing from this list.

Many might find this surprising, as the Dubai Championships is a WTA 1000 event – one of the biggest ones on the Tour. However, this is probably a part of their strategy as the two players want to be available for the ‘Sunshine Double’.

Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka at the Sunshine Double

The ‘Sunshine Double’ is a series of two WTA 1000 events – the Indian Wells Open and the Miami Open. Both of these tournaments are in the United States and are going to begin on March 11. Since the Dubai Championships begins on the 7th, it would make it difficult for Serena and Naomi to play both events.

Both players have had great records at the ‘Sunshine Double’. They both have been champions at Indian Wells and in Miami; Serena has triumphed an amazing eight times!

This is a lot better than their record at the Dubai Open, where both players have failed to even reach the finals. This is probably why they chose to skip it and will try to win in the United States. Do you think this is a good choice?

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