Abu Dhabi Open

The Abu Dhabi Open is a WTA 500 event played on outside hard courts in the first half of February, kicking off the Gulf Swing.

While Europe might be too cold to play outside, the United Arab Emirates is certainly not, and the Gulf countries are home to most tennis players for most of February. The ATP and WTA Tour have multiple events during that part of the year, starting with the Abu Dhabi Open on the women's side.

It's a yearly WTA 500 event played on outdoor hard courts with generally very solid participation when it comes to the players. The event was first held in 2021, but it was not held in 2022.

The courts at which the tournament is played are part of the Zayed Sports City International Tennis Centre in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and the event is followed by the Qatar Open in Doha and the Dubai Championships as part of the Gulf Swing.

The tournament was introduced because of the suspension of tournaments in China, and also lack of some events because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and after initial success, it got a permanent place in the WTA calendar.

In the tournament's inaugural edition, many great players such as Coco Gauff, Sofia Kenin, Elena Rybakina, and Ons Jabeur took part, but it was Aryna Sabalenka who ended with the first champion's trophy in her cabinet.

Two years later, the tournament welcomed a smaller field of players (32 compared to the previous 64-draw), and it also lacked some star power from the previous year, yet it was still a successful event with Belinda Bencic winning the trophy after beating Liudmila Samsonova in the final.