2023 Recap

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek secured her second consecutive Qatar Total Energies Open title by defeating Jessica Pegula 6-3, 6-0 in the final on February 13th. This victory marked Swiatek's first title of 2023 and her 12th career title.

The Amir His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani attended the final held at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex.

The event was also attended by HE Qatar Olympic Committee President Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani, together with sheikhs, ministers, senior officials, guests of the tournament, and tennis fans.

Joining the ranks of legendary players such as Anastasia Myskina, Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka, and Petra Kvitová, Swiatek became the fifth two-time winner in Doha. Throughout the tournament, Swiatek showcased her dominance as the reigning French and US Open champion, only dropping five games en route to claiming the Doha title—the fewest record en route to a WTA Tour-level title (breaking Chris Evert's record from 1981).

In a swift 69-minute match, she triumphed over the world number four, Pegula, improving her head-to-head record against the American to 5-2.

Doha holds a special significance for Swiatek, as her title win in Doha in 2022 ignited a remarkable 37-match winning streak that culminated in her second Grand Slam victory at the French Open. Reflecting on her win, Swiatek expressed her happiness at finding a better balance compared to the beginning of the season.

While the tournament has boosted her confidence, she remains focused on taking things step by step.

"I'm really happy that I could kind of find more balance, compared to how I felt at the beginning of the season," Swiatek said after her win.

"I think this tournament is going to give me a lot of confidence, but still, I want to take everything step by step. I'm just really happy that I could win this match today."

Swiatek acknowledged the wind as a factor in her strategy, utilizing her intuition to adapt her game accordingly.

"Yesterday, it kind of hit me that even though it's windy, I can use the wind properly," said the 21-year-old.

"I kind of use my intuition to sometimes imagine that I should play shorter, or on the other hand, play with more topspin so the wind is going to kind of take this ball even further.

Swiatek played with a mix of shorter shots and increased topspin, allowing the wind to work in her favor. However, she emphasized not overanalyzing the conditions and instead relied on her intuition to guide her gameplay.

"So today I just kind of continued that, but I didn't really want to overanalyze that, and I just kind of played how my intuition told me."

The President of the Qatar Tennis, Squash, and Badminton Federation, Nasser Ghanim Al Khelaifi, along with Qatar TotalEnergies Open Manager Saad Al Mohannadi, handed the trophies to the tournament winner and runner-up.