Week in Review: Pegula gets title No. 10 and the tiebreak of the year

After a thrilling weekend of tennis in Dubai, the Middle East swing is in the books.

The second WTA 1000 tournament of 2026 featured some incredible comebacks, the tiebreaker of the year and a steady champion.

As the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz heads to North America for the Sunshine swing, we're looking back at the most notable moments from the week that was.

Star of the Week

Jessica Pegula

It had been six straight semifinal appearances without a title for the American. But in her seventh, she made it count. After coming from a set and a break down to beat Amanda Anisimova in the semifinals, Jessica Pegula beat Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-4 to win her 10th career WTA Tour title (and fourth WTA 1000 title).

The World No. 5 picked up four Top 20 wins on the week, also knocking off 18-year-old Iva Jovic and Clara Tauson.

With the title, Pegula became just the fourth player since 1990 to win multiple Tier I/WTA 1000 titles after turning 30.

Speaking of her age, Pegula turns 32 today. Happy birthday, J-Peg! The Dubai title was the perfect present.

"It’s a great birthday present for me," Pegula said after beating Svitolina on Saturday. "I get to celebrate by flying back home in a few hours. But I’m just super happy to go home with the trophy. It was a great week."

Match of the Week

Elina Svitolina d. Coco Gauff, Dubai semifinals

There were a ton of contenders for this one this week. Two matches prior, Gauff saved three match points against Elise Mertens, and won an 11-9 tiebreaker, for the 2-6, 7-6 (9), 6-3 win. And, as mentioned above, Pegula came back from 6-1, 3-1 down to beat Anisimova.

But we have to go with Svitolina's epic 6-4, 6-7 (13), 6-4 win over Gauff that lasted just over 3 hours. Gauff saved four match points in that second-set tiebreaker (more on that below), and the Ukrainian finally secured the win on her sixth match point.

"Speechless after that fight," Svitolina said in her on-court interview. "I was really trying to put myself out there, and I was playing like there is no tomorrow."

Tiebreaker of the Week

Coco Gauff d. Elina Svitolina 7-6 (13), Dubai semifinals

This was an instant classic. It was tense, with constant momentum swings and a whole bunch of escapes.

There were seven lead changes, Gauff saved four match points and Svitolina saved four set points. At 14-13, on the World No. 4's seventh set point -- she had two prior to the tiebreak -- Gauff ripped a forehand crosscourt that Svitolina returned wide.

Shot of the Week

Coco's sparkling net play

It's only fitting that the shot(s) of the week came during the tiebreaker. At 8-all, with Gauff serving, she showed off some absurd net play, spraying volleys all over the court from inside the service line.

Then at 13-all, after an extended rally from the baseline, Gauff returned to the net, kept the point alive with a backhand at her shoe tops and finished it with a gorgeous volley winner.

Most Surprising Scoreline of the Week

Coco Gauff d. Alexandra Eala 6-0, 6-2, Dubai quarterfinals

Eala was in control in her first three matches, including a straight-sets upset of sixth seed Jasmine Paolini. But she was no match for Gauff, who dominated the Filipina sensation in a clinical 67-minute win. Gauff took the first 10 games of the match before Eala finally got on the board.

"I definitely wasn’t in good spirits before entering this tournament," Gauff admitted on court after the win, "but one match can change everything."

Stat of the Week

7 straight semifinals

As mentioned above, this was Pegula's seventh straight semifinal appearance dating back to last year's US Open, tying her with the most consecutive semifinal appearances since Agnieszka Radwanska in 2015-16.

Since reaching the final four in New York last year, the American has reached the semifinals in Beijing, Wuhan (where she reached the final), Riyadh, Brisbane, Melbourne and Dubai.

It would have been quite the bittersweet stat, if not for Pegula going all the way in Dubai. Bittersweet no more. It's a true testament to her durability and consistency week in and week out.

The Feel-Good Moment of the Week

Mutual respect and admiration

After Eala lost to Gauff, she posted an Instagram story that read, "Congrats @cocogauff. Love sharing the court with you, always learn a lot." The photo was of them embracing at the net after the match. Gauff reposted the story and added a one-word comment: "star!!"

That wasn't the only special moment between these two fan favorites. During Gauff's post-match interview on court, she thanked her opponent for "bringing a new demographic to the sport," and encouraged her fans to "keep being enthusiastic and keep rooting for her player."

The Best Social Moment of the Week

Alright, alright, alright

We're leaving Dubai for a moment and heading to Austin, Texas.

World No. 62 Peyton Stearns shared the court with fellow University of Texas alum Matthew McConaughey ahead of this week's WTA 250 ATX Open. Hitting partners don't get much cooler than that.

Stearns, who won the NCAA championship for the Longhorns, is seeded fourth at the ATX Open. She'll play Britain's Francesca Jones in her opening match.

The Breakthrough of the Week

Antonia Ruzic's unlikely path to the quarters

It was a life-changing week for Antonia Ruzic, who made her first career WTA 1000 quarterfinals in Dubai.

How the 23-year-old Croatian got to the final eight was as improbable as it was impressive.

In her opening qualifying match, she let six match points slip away and ended up losing to Rebecca Sramkova 5-7, 7-5, 6-1. But she made the main draw as the sixth lucky loser and seized the opportunity, defeating Emma Raducanu and Anastasia Zakharova in three sets before advancing past Elena Rybakina, who retired one game into the third set. Her run ended with a three-set loss to eventual finalist Svitolina.

The strong week propelled Ruzic 16 spots in the PIF WTA Rankings, up to a career-high No. 51.

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