The Middle Eastern swing begins on the WTA Tour at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Open, and the event's prize money and ranking points have been revealed.
There have only been three previous editions of the Abu Dhabi Open, but it has already become a popular WTA 500 tournament. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka won the first iteration of the event in 2021.
After not being played in 2022, Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic, beaten in three sets by Coco Gauff at the 2025 Australian Open, won a thrilling final against Liudmila Samsonova to secure the 2023 title in Abu Dhabi.
Elena Rybakina won last year's Abu Dhabi Open, comfortably beating Daria Kasatkina in the final. She is the No. 1 seed and will defend her title at the event next week. The tournament runs from February 3rd until 8th.
Observing Rybakina will be particularly interesting since this will be her first tournament since she and Goran Ivanisevic split. While the Croat did not confirm the details, this split seems to have been caused by her desire to start working with controversial ex-coach Stefano Vukov.
Former US Open champion Emma Raducanu, recent Australian Open semifinalist Paula Badosa, and Leylah Fernandez are among the other players on the impressive 2025 Abu Dhabi Open entry list.
The prize money being offered by the tournament is also impressive, $1,064,510 in total, and the ranking points are unchanged from other WTA 500 events occurring at other times of the season.
This year's Abu Dhabi Open champion will earn $164,000 for her efforts and 500 ranking points. However, failing to defend the 500 ranking points she won last year could cause Rybakina to slip down the rankings.
The Kazakhstani is the world No. 5, but she has only a small ranking point lead over Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys, who are No. 6 and No. 7, respectively. An early exit would guarantee that she falls to No. 7.
2025 runner-up Kasatkina is on the entry list once again. If she repeats that achievement, it would lead to a reward of $101,000 and 325 ranking points. A six-figure sum for making a WTA 500 final is impressive.
The losing semifinalists at the Abu Dhabi Open will collect $59,000 and 195 ranking points. Surprise semifinalists at 500 or 250-level events are common, and that could happen in Abu Dhabi next week.
While the rewards begin to diminish more sharply after the quarterfinals, the four players who lose at that stage will receive a decent $28,695 and 108 ranking points. Two main draw wins are needed to achieve that.
Players who make it to at least the round of 16 at the Abu Dhabi Open will have $15,700 added to their bank accounts. Sixty ranking points are also guaranteed for those players.
Only one ranking point is given to those who lose in the opening rounds of WTA 500 tournaments. However, the $11,300 should still be attractive enough for players in qualifying to be motivated to reach the main draw.
The Middle Eastern swing on the WTA Tour has started with a bang in Abu Dhabi in recent years. This year's tournament is unlikely to be any different.
2025 Abu Dhabi Open WTA Prize Money & Points Overview:
| Points | Prize Money | |
| Winner | 500 points | $164,000 |
| Finalist | 325 points | $101,000 |
| Semi-finalists | 195 points | $59,000 |
| Quarter-finalists | 108 points | $28,695 |
| 2nd round | 60 points | $15,700 |
| 1st round | 1 point | $11,300 |
