Danilina back in top 10, to compete alongside Rybakina at Qatar Open

Kazakhstani tennis player Anna Danilina climbed one place in the updated WTA doubles rankings, returning to the top 10. Paired with Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunić, she is preparing to participate in the Qatar TotalEnergies Open 2026, alongside Elena Rybakina.

Following the 2025 final, Moscow-born Danilina, who has been representing Kazakhstan since 2011, was ranked eighth. However, she ended the year in 15th place. After reaching the final of the 2026 Australian Open, Danilina moved up to 11th and soon returned to the top 10. She outperformed Latvia’s Jeļena Ostapenko, who failed to defend last year’s points last week.

After a break in Melbourne, almost the entire women’s tennis elite will compete in the WTA 1000 Qatar Open. Danilina and Krunić will not play in the first round.

To reach the quarterfinals, the 2026 Australian Open runners-up will face the winners of the match between Canada’s Leylah Fernandez (world No. 80) paired with France’s Kristina Mladenovic (No. 70) and the Chinese duo Wang Xinyu (No. 29) and Zheng Saisai (No. 92).

In singles, Kazakhstan’s two-time Grand Slam champion Elena Rybakina will compete. Notably, she could also face Wang (No. 33 in singles) in the second round if the Chinese player defeats Colombia’s Emiliana Arango (No. 49) in the opening match. Rybakina skips the first round.

The WTA Qatar Open — currently known as the Qatar TotalEnergies Open — was established in 2001. Kazakhstani tennis players have reached the finals of the Qatari tournament twice.

The total prize money for the current outdoor hard-court tournament is $4,088,211. The singles winner will receive $385,000, while in doubles, $110,000 will be shared between the pair.