Clara Tauson serves up a reminder of steady tennis progress on the WTA Tour
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Tauson won the girls’ singles at the 2019 . In the four majors prior, there were four different girls’ singles winners. Two have gone on to be Grand Slam champions: and . The other two are Liang En-shuo and Wang Xiyu, ranked No. 153 and No. 95 in the world. The four winners of the four junior majors after Tauson’s win? Leylah Fernandez, a finalist and now world No. 30; Daria Snigur (currently world No. 125); Camia Osorio (No. 52); and Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva (No. 151.) Many more junior champions find themselves down the rankings than make it to the top of the sport — and even those that do often take longer than their first flush of success might have implied.
Tauson, 22 years old and a tall, big hitter from Denmark, will enter the world’s top 30 for the first time Monday whatever happens in her semifinal against Friday — six years on from that junior Australian Open win as a 16-year-old. It’s also Tauson’s first semifinal at a WTA 1,000 event, the rung just below the Grand Slams.
Henin won her first Grand Slam at the French Open a few days after her 21st birthday in 2003. Tauson is taking a bit longer to get to her best level, which in Denmark some believe could be the top 10 by the end of the year. Gravesen says the country loves an underdog story and Tauson’s reemergence has captured the public’s imagination — especially when Rune appears to be on the opposite trajectory.
Karolina Muchova vs. Clara Tauson: Where to Watch, Dubai Preview, Betting Odds
Tauson and Muchova have never played, but it’s not hard to imagine that they’ll give us a severe contrast in styles.
Published Feb 20, 2025
🖥️📱 Click here for live coverage on TennisChannel.com (United States only; estimated start time 10:00 a.m. ET)
The winner of this match will face either Elena Rybakina or Mirra Andreeva in the final.
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Tauson is fast turning into one of the pleasant surprises of the season. At 22, she has begun to fulfill some of the potential that she showed when she was the No. 1 junior in the world five years ago. She’s 14-3 on the season, she has a title, and this is her second semifinal in three weeks. In Dubai, she has beaten Svitolina, Sabalenka, and Noskova, in the only way he knows how: By hauling off and pummeling the ball.
Tauson and Muchova have never played, but it’s not hard to imagine that they’ll give us a severe contrast in styles. Where Tauson goes for knockout punches with every swing, Muchova aims to jab and nick and cut her opponents with a variety of shots and spins and ploys.
Each woman has survived a third-set tiebreaker, and then come back to play even better the next day. So both should be in a groove and hard to disrupt on Friday. I’ll go with the more experienced of the two players to keep her groove going, and find a way to throw her younger opponent out of hers. Winner: Muchova —Steve Tignor
👉 Click here for more news on the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Muchova is a -145 moneyline favorite; Tauson is a +118 underdog.
To win the tournament, Muchova is +240 and Tauson +450.
(Odds from BetMGM as of 6:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, February 20)
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At 17, Andreeva is into the biggest final of her career.
Published Feb 21, 2025
DUBAI—Mirra Andreeva roared into her first WTA 1000 final on Friday, shocking Elena Rybakina, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
The 17-year-old No. backed up a big win over world No. 2 Iga Swiatek to repeat the feat against Rybakina defeating the former world No. 3 and No. 6 seed in two hours and 15 minutes on Center Court.
“Honestly it’s crazy because at first I was not very positive before coming to Dubai,” said Andreeva, who lost early last week at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open in Doha. “I was like, ‘Okay, well, I’m just going to play.’
“As always, when you don’t think about how you’re going to play, you just play your best tennis. In the end, it’s one of your best tournaments.”
Andreeva had been in the midst of a milestone week coming into her first WTA 1000 semifinal, fresh off a strong win over Swiatek, the current world No. 2. The No. 12 seed has soared up the rankings since last spring, when she made her first major semifinal at Roland Garros with a win against then-No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, and won her first WTA title on clay in Romania.
The teenaged Andreeva is into her first WTA 1000 final after rallying from 1-3 down in the final set over Rybakina, a former Wimbledon champion.
A 2022 Wimbledon champion, Rybakina had played Andreeva just once before, coming back from a set down to win on hard courts at the 2023 China Open, but both have been through much in the 16 months since that Round of 16 clash.
While Andreeva has credited much of her rise to coach Conchita Martinez, Rybakina is dealing with more worrying personnel issues as ex-coach Stefano Vukov was recently suspended for breaching the WTA’s Code of Conduct. The Athletic reported Vukov will remain suspended for at least a year, leading Rybakina to incorporate Davide Sanguinetti as her official coach—though it is widely understood that Vukov still holds the proverbial reins.
Despite the off-court issues, Rybakina has put together a strong week in Dubai, saving six match points to defeat Paula Badosa and knocking out 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in back-to-back matches to book the meeting with Andreeva.
Andreeva, who opened up about her work with a sports psychologist, nonetheless got off to the stronger start as night fell on Center Court, twice breaking the Russian-born Kazakh en route to winning the first set behind 11 winners.
Though she won an impressive all-court rally to get on the board in the second, Andreeva found fewer openings on Rybakina’s serve and found herself broken in the tenth game to force a final set. Rybakina kept up her momentum with an early break in the decider but a missed overhead provided an opening for Andreeva, who took full advantage to bring the set back on serve.
The match shifted quickly from there, Andreeva reversing a 1-3 deficit much as she did against Swiatek into a break advantage of her own. A marathon eighth game ensued, with Andreeva roaring back from 0-40 down and holding her cool to save four total break points and move within a game of the final.
A deflated Rybakina netted a backhand to hand Andreeva a match point; though the teen erred wide, she earned a second off another error from Rybakina. Andreeva secured a fifth game in a row on her second match point, Rybakina missing a final backhand wide.
Standing between Andreeva and her first WTA 1000 title will be the winner of the second semifinal, between Clara Tauson and No. 14 seed Karolina Muchova.
“I think I know how to play against both of them. Well, I hope Conchita knows and she’s going to tell me,” said Andreeva. “We’re going to prepare our best and I hope I’m going to show my best levels tomorrow.”
Karolina Muchova vs. Clara Tauson: Where to Watch, Dubai Preview, Betting Odds
Mirra Andreeva into Dubai final, upsets Elena Rybakina
Elena Rybakina vs. Mirra Andreeva: Where to Watch, Dubai Preview, Betting Odds
Dubai Semifinal Preview: Elena Rybakina vs. Mirra Andreeva, Karolina Muchova vs. Clara Tauson
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Elena Rybakina vs. Sofia Kenin: Where to Watch, Dubai Preview, Betting Odds
Karolina Muchova vs. Sorana Cirstea: Where to Watch, Dubai Preview, Betting Odds
Iga Swiatek vs. Mirra Andreeva: Where to Watch, Dubai Preview, Betting Odds
Where to Watch
Karolina Muchova vs. Clara Tauson
Betting Odds
MATCH POINT: KAROLINA MUCHOVA INTO DOHA SEMIFINALS WITH STRAIGHT-SET WIN OVER SORANA CIRSTEA
WATCH: MIRRA ANDREEVA WINS ALL-COURT RALLY IN DUBAI
Dubai Open: Tauson books spot in semi-finals
Clara Tauson beat Linda Noskova 7-6 (4), 6-4 on Thursday afternoon and will play the winner of the match between No 14 seed Karolina Muchova and Romanian wildcard Sorana Cirstea in the next round
Dane Clara Tauson advanced to the last four of the Dubai Open by winning against Linda Noskova 7-6 (4), 6-4 at The Aviation Club Tennis Centre on Thursday.
Tauson, ranked No 38, will face the winner of the match between No 14 seed Karolina Muchova and Romanian wildcard Sorana Cirstea next.
The 22-year-old Dane beat Slovak Rebecca Sramkova (7-6 (7), 6-0), Ukrainian Elina Svitolina (7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-6 (4)) and Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, the top seed (6-3, 6-2) ahead of her victory.
Earlier in the tournament, Noskova, ranked No 35, won against Kazakh Yulia Putintseva (6-2, 7-6 (5)), Russian Diana Shnaider, the No 11 seed (7-6 (8), 4-6, 6-3) and American Jessica Pegula, the No 5 seed (6-3, 7-6 (8)).
Dubai WTA 1000, other quarter-finals results (The Aviation Club Tennis Centre, hard, USD 3.664.963, most recent results first):
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