Svitolina lost to American Pegula in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai

Ukraine's top player Elina Svitolina lost to American Jessica Pegula in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai. The match ended in two sets in favor of the U.S. representative. This is reported by Suspilne Sport.

This was Svitolina's first final at WTA 1000 events in the last eight years. The last time the Ukrainian reached a decisive match at this level was in 2018 in Rome.

WTA 1000 Final in Dubai: how the Svitolina match went

The match lasted 1 hour and 13 minutes and ended with a score of 2:6, 4:6. In the first set, the Ukrainian was trailing 0:3 and could not turn the game around. In the second set, the key moment was the fifth game when Svitolina lost her serve, after which Pegula brought the match to victory.

Match statistics:

• five double faults by Svitolina

• two aces from the Ukrainian

• score by sets 0:2.

This was the ninth head-to-head match between the two tennis players. After the final, Pegula maintained her lead in their personal encounters.

WTA rankings after Dubai: Svitolina's position

Despite the defeat, Svitolina's performance in the final will allow her to rise to the ninth place in the WTA rankings. The Ukrainian returned to the top 10 thanks to her semifinal at the Australian Open 2026, and the result in Dubai will strengthen her position among the leaders of the tour.

The final in Dubai was an important stage in Svitolina's comeback to the highest level after a long break between WTA 1000 tournament finals.

It is worth noting that Elina Svitolina did not shake hands with Sabalenka after her defeat.