Whoa, Qatar Open, the first WTA 1000 tournament of the season, is bringing the drama! First, Coco Gauff, a real rising star, got knocked out in her very first match by Marta Kostyuk – a total shocker! And then, even more unbelievably, top seed Aryna Sabalenka was also ousted in her opener! Coming right after her tough loss in the Happy Slam final to Madison Keys, this early exit just adds to her woes at the start of the season. Sabalenka even gave a pretty emotional farewell to the tournament after her loss, which makes you wonder what’s next for her.

Top seed Belarusian stepped onto the court in Doha, eager to shake off her Melbourne heartbreak. Facing her was Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova, a rising force who had already clinched her first WTA title of the season at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz just 10 days back. Sabalenka came out swinging, dominating the first set with 6-3 in just 51 minutes. But the Russian, fresh off an R1 victory over the former US Open winner Emma Raducanu, wasn’t backing down. She stormed back in the second set, matching Sabalenka’s score with a 6-3 win, forcing a deciding set.

Then came the ‘nerve-wracking’ final set, a battle that needed a tie-breaker to settle the score of the match. Why? Because even the world’s best female tennis athlete can have an off day as the two-time Australian Open winner racked up a staggering 53 unforced errors. Still, the Belarusian fought back, saving two match points and firing off stunning winners in the tie-breaker. But just when it seemed she might escape, Alexandrova struck hard!

A simple ‘down-the-line’ backhand from the Russian tennis player forced Sabalenka into a costly mistake, dragging her shot wide and sealing a 7-6 (7-5) victory for Alexandrova. Interestingly, Alexandrova’s win makes her the first player since Naomi Osaka (who beat Ash Barty in Beijing back in 2019) to defeat the world number one at a WTA-1000 tournament after losing the first set. Meanwhile, the Belarusian reassured fans with a hopeful message, promising a stronger comeback.

Right after her R32 match, Sabalenka hopped on Instagram and shared a carousel of photos from her Doha experience. The pictures showed her with a doll, running with her Belarusian teammate Andrei Vasilevski, hanging out with family in Doha, arriving for her match, and even a short video clip of her match being interrupted by a surprise guest – a cat invading the court! She captioned the post, “Thank you @qatartennis, I’ll be back stronger 🙏🏼🐈”.

This news comes on the very same day that the No. 3 player, Coco Gauff, was surprisingly knocked out in Doha. Well, the 20-year-old was in red-hot form at the start of the new season, leading Team USA to United Cup glory. But since then, her form took a downward turn, crashing out of the Happy Slam in the QF and now falling at the first hurdle against the free-swinging Marta Kostyuk. The Ukrainian tennis player, who stayed focused on her own game, continued to take big swings and ultimately clinched the match 6-2, 7-5. This victory also marked Marta’s ninth win over a top 10 seed player and her second triumph over the American ace.

Well, now that Saba is out from the tournament, her opponent Alexandrova will now play against Elise Mertens in the R16. Alternatively, the defeat may be attributed to emotional distress, as the Belarusian athlete described the significant impact of the Australian Open loss.

Aryna Sabalenka is still gutted about her Australian Open defeat

Ahead of her return to Doha, the former champion shared about her devastating loss at the Happy Slam final. “This one was the toughest one. I think for a week I was still thinking about that match. Honestly, looking back and thinking about those two lost games (in the final set), I didn’t do anything wrong, she just played out of her mind, and it was her day, there’s nothing to regret,” she added.

Also, at the post-match press conference at the Australian Open, she opened up about reaching the final, despite admitting that ‘Nobody remembers the finalist’. “I think when you get to the point of finals, it’s trophy or nothing. Nobody remembers the finalist, you know? Nobody put, like, next to the winner finalist name (smiling). I mean, at this point, yeah, I go for titles. But, of course, I have to be anyway proud of myself with the finals, three finals in the row. That’s something crazy. I hope that next year I’ll come back as a better player, and I’ll hold Daphne one more time,” she added. 

For Sabalenka, the Qatar Open loss marked her worst defeat since her second-round exit at the 2024 Miami Open. However, she is determined to come back stronger, and fans will surely be eager to see her return to winning form once again.