Jessica Pegula was honestly just too good on this day in winning the Dubai trophy, defeating Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-4 in just one hour and 12 minutes. The World No. 5 dominated the baseline exchanges, preventing Svitolina from establishing the type of rhythm that carried her to the final.
Svitolina, the World No. 9, had endured a grueling two-hour, 58-minute marathon against World No. 4 Coco Gauff the previous day. That semi-final triumph marked her second victory over Gauff in 2026, continuing to show her excellent form while getting off to a great start for the 2026 season.
While Svitolina missed out on adding to the title she won against Xinyu Wang on January 11, her 2nd place finish here and her run to the semi-finals in the Australian Open are positive signs for the Ukrainian.
