Three to see, Doha Day 3: Gauff vs. Kostyuk, Zheng vs. Jabeur, Sabalenka vs. Alexandrova

Coco Gauff vs. Marta Kostyuk

Head-to-head: Gauff leads 3-1

Gauff and Kostyuk will meet for the fourth time in two years at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open, having faced off three times in 2024. Gauff won twice but two of their three matches went three sets. The American began the new season in similar form she brought to their most recent meeting in Wuhan, which came following her title run at the China Open in Beijing.

An unbeaten start to 2025 ended abruptly in the Australian Open quarterfinals, but Gauff still ought to carry plenty of momentum from her title run at United Cup, where she scored a second straight victory over former world No. 1 Iga Swiatek.

Both Gauff and Kostyuk lost to the same player in Melbourne—eventual semifinalist Paula Badosa—but the latter is still in search of a big result after dipping out of the Top 20 at the end of last month. Kostyuk has challenged Gauff in the past, winning their only clay-court meeting at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, but hard courts should favor Gauff, who is 22-3 on the surface since last fall.

Winner: Gauff

Zheng Qinwen vs. Ons Jabeur

Head-to-head: Zheng leads 2-0

Following Gauff and Kostyuk on Center Court, the result of this match may largely come down to whether Zheng has recovered from the injury she took into the Australian Open.

The reigning Olympic gold medalist confessed to suffering an injury after last fall’s WTA Finals, where she finished runner-up to Gauff, and opted out of pre-Australian Open warm-up tournaments in the hopes of maximizing her recovery time ahead of the first major of the season. The injury, combined with a lack of match reps, surely contributed to her second-round exit to Laura Siegemund in Melbourne, and the world No. 5 has been off the court ever since.

Conversely, her opponent has shown flashes of the player who was ranked No. 2 only two years ago. Back into the Top 40 after dropping to No. 42 last season due to injuries and inconsistency, the Tunisian pushed Emma Navarro to three sets at the Australian Open and Elena Rybakina to a third-set tiebreaker only last week in Abu Dhabi. Though she trails Zheng in their head-to-head, both were when Jabeur was less than 100%, an illness hampering her 2023 US Open campaign.

With the crowd behind her, Jabeur will be eager for the opportunity to earn a career-boosting upset.

Winner: Jabeur

Aryna Sabalenka vs. Ekaterina Alexandrova

Head-to-head: Sabalenka leads 4-3

Fans of first-strike tennis will get more than their fill in the final Center Court match of the day, a rematch of a roller-coaster US Open third round where Sabalenka won 12 of the final 15 games from a set down.

Sabalenka will be on court for the first time since her runner-up finish at the Australian Open, a disappointing defeat that saw her fall just short of a third consecutive title Down Under. Still, the three-time major champion left Melbourne atop the WTA rankings and a chance to build on her point total after skipping Doha in 2024.

To do that she’ll have to beat an in-form Alexandrova, who is fresh off a fifth career title in Linz. Though Sabalenka has the benefit of a first-round bye, she’ll be facing Alexandrova cold, where the world No. 26 had the benefit of having already played a match (defeating Emma Raducanu in straight sets).

Champion in Doha back in 2020, Sabalenka has hit through power players at this tournament in the past—defeating none other than Petra Kvitova in the final—and while Alexandrova is match tough, her win in Linz was indoors. Apparently recovered from the disappointment of her Australian Open loss to Madison Keys, Sabalenka is bring a low-pressure mindset into the Middle East, which could spell trouble for the field.

Winner: Sabalenka