Elina Svitolina reached the final of WTA 1000 in Dubai 2026

Elina Svitolina made it to the final of the prestigious WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai, defeating the fourth-ranked player in the world Coco Gauff in a dramatic semifinal. The match lasted over three hours and ended in victory for the Ukrainian in three sets. As reported by RBC Ukraine.

The match concluded with a score of 6:4, 6:7, 6:4 in favor of the ninth-ranked player in the world. This marks Svitolina’s 13th semifinal at WTA 1000 tournaments and her fifth in Dubai. The Ukrainian was fighting for her third final appearance on these courts.

Elina Svitolina in the WTA 1000 semifinal: a thriller with 28 rallies

The first set started with difficulties for Svitolina: she was trailing 1:3, but quickly equalized and made the decisive break – 6:4. In the second set, the Ukrainian saved two set points at 5:6 and brought the game to a tiebreak.

The extra game turned out to be a true marathon – the opponents played 28 rallies. Svitolina had four match points but lost the tiebreak 13:15. In the deciding set, the tennis players were even until 4:4, after which the Ukrainian held her serve and made a break – 6:4.

WTA 1000 final in Dubai: opponent and match statistics

In the final on February 21, Svitolina will face the fifth-ranked player in the world Jessica Pegula from the USA. The tennis players have already met eight times:

• three victories for Svitolina

• five victories for Pegula.

The previous match between them took place in March last year in Indian Wells and ended with a victory for the Ukrainian.

Overall, this will be Svitolina's 24th final in her career. She is vying for her 20th title on tour. At the beginning of 2026, the Ukrainian already won a tournament in Auckland.

Recall that Elina Svitolina did not shake hands with Sabalenka after the defeat.