Players will take to the court for the semifinals on Day 6 (Friday, February 6) of the Abu Dhabi Open 2026. An illness forced defending champion Belinda Bencic to pull out of the tournament just a short while before her opener here, thus ensuring a new champion in Abu Dhabi.
Jelena Ostapenko, Paula Badosa, Leylah Fernandez and Emma Navarro, the other big names, were sent packing in the first couple of rounds. Hailey Baptiste, Ekaterina Alexandrova, Clara Tauson, and Sara Bejlek are the final four women left standing. On that note, here are the predictions for the semifinal matches at the Abu Dhabi Open 2026:
Thanks for the submission!
#1. Ekaterina Alexandrova vs Hailey Baptiste
After a first-round bye, Alexandrova beat Dayana Yastremska and Alexandra Eala in straight sets to make the semifinals of the Abu Dhabi Open, her best result of the season thus far. Baptiste has fought her way into the last four, needing three sets to dispatch all of her opponents so far, Teodora Kostovic, fourth seed Emma Navarro, and fifth seed Liudmila Samsonova.
Baptiste is bidding to reach her maiden singles final on the WTA Tour, while Alexandrova is eyeing her 13th career final. The Russian won their previous and only meeting at the Wuhan Open 2024 in decisive fashion, conceding only two games.
However, Baptiste’s fighting spirit has been on full display this week. Alexandrova has crumbled under pressure on numerous occasions before, including her infamous loss to Elise Mertens at the Rosmalen Open 2025, where she blew 11 match points. If Baptiste manages to turn this into another dogfight, then she will be favored to one-up Alexandrova.
Winner: Hailey Baptiste
#2. Clara Tauson vs Sara Bejlek
Following a first-round bye, Tauson scored routine wins over Simona Waltert and McCartney Kessler to make the semifinals of the Abu Dhabi Open. Bejlek has been on a roll here, coming through the qualifying rounds and then beating Ashlyn Krueger, Jelena Ostapenko, and Sonay Kartal to reach the biggest semifinal of her career.
Bejlek hasn’t dropped a set across all of her matches this week, right from the qualifying stages. This will be just her second match against a top 20 player. She previously lost to Elena Rybakina at the Madrid Open 2024 in straight sets.
Tauson recently made the third round of the Australian Open, and had a career-best season in 2025. She cracked the top 20 of the rankings, won the title in Auckland, and finished as the runner-up at the WTA 1000 in Dubai. While Bejlek has the game to put up a fight, Tauson will be expected to advance to the final based on their overall results.
Winner: Clara Tauson
Edited by Rohit
