Sabalenka Doubts Dubai Return After Director Criticism

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka voiced doubts about returning to the Dubai Tennis Championships after tournament director Salah Tahlak criticized her and Iga Swiatek's late withdrawals from the event last month. Speaking at a pretournament press conference in Miami on March 17, 2026, the Belarusian player called Tahlak's push for stricter penalties "ridiculous" and suggested the remarks showed a lack of support for athletes.

Sabalenka withdrew from the WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai citing a minor hip injury, while Swiatek, ranked No. 3, pulled out due to a schedule change and cited not feeling mentally ready. Their absences, along with those of Naomi Osaka and Madison Keys, forced lucky losers into the main draw and affected the prestige of the event, one of the tour's most significant outside the Grand Slams. Tahlak described the exits as an "unfortunate surprise" in comments to media and advocated for penalties beyond existing fines, including deductions of ranking points for late pullouts.

"I don't think he showed himself in the best way possible," Sabalenka said. "For me, it's actually so sad to see that the tournament directors and the tournaments are not protecting us as...