We've got two dynamite finals in Doha and Dubai.

Ignacio Buse pulls off another upset in Brazil.

And, Venus Williams punches her ticket to Indian Wells.

Let's get you caught up on all the results, ramblings, and rigmarole from across the world of tennis.

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*Tabilo vs. Tirante heading into a 3rd set at "press time."

🔥 Fight Like Ukraine Elina Svitolina needs 3 hours, 3 minutes, and every ounce of fight she had to edge Coco Gauff, 6-4, 6-7¹³, 6-4, and reach the Dubai final. Seven lead changes. Four Svitolina match points. Five Gauff set points. One incredible match. The former world #3 finishes by signing the camera lens: "Fight Like Ukraine." It is her first WTA 1000 final since Rome 2018, a gap of 7 years and 277 days. No player has ever waited longer between WTA 1000 finals.

💪 Jess to Impress Jessica Pegula drops nine of the first 11 games against Amanda Anisimova before storming back for a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory in the Dubai semifinals. Pegula is 12-2 in 2026 with three Top 10 wins, all against fellow Americans. Pegula's eight WTA 1000 final appearances trail only Serena Williams among American women.

🔥 Still Perfect Eleven matches into 2026, zero losses. Carlos Alcaraz survives defending champion Andrey Rublev, 7-6³, 6-4, to reach the Doha final. The world #1 twice fails to serve out the opening set and needs six match points to close it. His composure under pressure continues to define this early-season run. A title this week would push his lead over Jannik Sinner past 3,080 points.

👀 Long Road Back Three events into his comeback from an 8-month absence with a stress fracture in his back, and Arthur Fils is already in a final. The 21yo Frenchman dispatches Jakub Mensik, 6-4, 7-6⁴, in his first tournament with former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic onboard as coach. It is Ivanisevic's third stint in a year after short-lived runs with Elena Rybakina and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

🚨 Perú es Clave Ignacio Buse takes down Matteo Berrettini, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, in a rain-interrupted Rio Open quarterfinal to reach his first ATP 500 semifinal. The 21yo Peruvian already silenced the Rio crowd earlier this week by upsetting #3 seed Joao Fonseca. After that win, he wrote "Perú es clave" ("Peru is key") on the ESPN camera. Buse's uncle is Gaston Acurio, the chef who put Peruvian cuisine on the global map, and his grandfather Eduardo Buse has a Davis Cup stadium named after him in Lima.

🚨 Friendly Fired Up Tommy Paul topples top seed and close friend Taylor Fritz, 6-4, 6-3, in just 76 minutes at Delray Beach. The two have known each other since juniors and won Olympic doubles bronze together in Paris. Paul levels their H2H at 3-3 and faces Learner Tien in the semifinals.

🎯 Century Club Tomas Martin Etcheverry records the 100th tour-level win, edging lucky loser Jaime Faria, 7-6⁴, 6-4, to reach the Rio Open semifinals. The Argentine is the only seed left in the draw and now just two wins from the first ATP title. He faces Czech Vit Kopriva, who dispatched Juan Manuel Cerundolo, 6-4, 6-4, in the other quarterfinal.

👀 Mom's Watching Learner Tien rallies from a break down in the third set to topple Frances Tiafoe, 7-6⁵, 3-6, 7-5, in the Delray Beach quarterfinals. From 3-5 down in the decider, the 20yo rattles off four straight games, taking 16 of the last 18 points and breaking Tiafoe at love to finish it. His motivation? His mom was in the stands. This is Tien's first semifinal of 2026, chasing a second career title after Metz last November.

🚨 Ruud Awakening Sebastian Korda upsets #2 seed Casper Ruud, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, in Delray Beach to return to the semifinals in Delray Beach for the first time since 2021. After an error-heavy opening set, Korda took command, winning 24 of 29 net points. He faces #3 seed Flavio Cobolli for a spot in the final.

💔 Shelton Shelved Ben Shelton withdraws from next week's Acapulco ATP 500 with quad discomfort after his title run in Dallas. The world #9 is 10-2 on the season.

🌟 California Dreamin' Venus Williams receives a main draw wildcard for Indian Wells in both singles and doubles. The 45yo, 7-time slam champion will partner with Leylah Fernandez in doubles, look to recapture the magic of their 2025 US Open quarterfinal run. The living legend is still looking for her first win of 2026, falling in the 1st round at Auckland, Hobart, and the Australian Open.

🔥 Junior Mint American Andrew Johnson wins the M15 Sunrise title at 16 years and 176 days old, making him the youngest player to win an ITF World Tennis Tour men's singles title since Carlos Alcaraz in July 2019. Johnson is ranked #16 in ITF juniors and was part of the US team that won the Junior Davis Cup in November.

A new segment! Highlighting tennis journalism that goes beyond daily match results.

In Jack Beatnik's tribute at Last Word on Tennis, the case for Marin Cilic's Hall of Fame candidacy gets the full treatment. A slam title, 600+ wins, two decades in the Top 100, and a career forged on the first tennis court ever built in Medjugorje. The piece argues Cilic is the most overlooked player of the modern era.

Owen Lewis writes for The Second Serve about Iga Swiatek's identity crisis. Caught between the patient 2020 game and the hyperaggressive baselining that followed, Swiatek just lost to Maria Sakkari from a set up in Doha, breaking a career-long record. Lewis traces the struggle back to a coaching change and a player who wants to win so badly she sometimes forgets how.

Giri Nathan captures the sad comedy of the Daniil Medvedev-Stefanos Tsitsipas rivalry in The Second Serve. Once appointment viewing, their Doha meeting barely registered as Tsitsipas won 6-3, 6-4 for his first Top 20 victory since the Paris Olympics. Nathan tracks the freefall of both players, with a special spotlight on Ivanisevic's scorched-earth media tour after his split with Tsitsipas last summer.

"Speechless after that fight. I was playing like there is no tomorrow, just trying to put all the effort in." - Elina Svitolina on her Dubai semifinal victory over Coco Gauff ¹

"I saw my mom sitting up there when I was down 4-5 and I know if I lost, she was going to leave tomorrow." - Learner Tien on his Delray Beach comeback against Frances Tiafoe ²

"If you want to find a solution to a problem, you should find it in a calm place." - Carlos Alcaraz on staying composed during his Doha semifinal ³

"Eight months without playing tennis, just watching the other guys battling. To be back in a final, it means a lot." - Arthur Fils on reaching the Doha final after his injury layoff ⁴

"That would be an amazing birthday present. I'm not going to mention how old I'm turning, but it's getting too old to where I don't want to talk about it." - Jessica Pegula on the possibility of winning the Dubai title before turning 32 ⁵

"I started off the week just trying to win one match here. Entering a tournament not in my best form and still making the semis means a lot." - Coco Gauff on her Dubai run ending in the semifinals ⁶

"He's undoubtedly one of the best players in the world now." - Tommy Paul on upcoming semifinal opponent Learner Tien ⁷

DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS - Final

◆ Jessica Pegula (4) vs Elina Svitolina (7)

QATAR EXXONMOBIL OPEN - Final

◆ Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs Arthur Fils

RIO OPEN - Semifinal

◆ Tomas Martin Etcheverry (8) vs. Vit Kopriva

◆ Ignacio Buse vs. Alejandro Tabilo or Thiago Tirante

DELRAY BEACH OPEN - Semifinals

◆ Flavio Cobolli (3) vs. Sebastian Korda

◆ Learner Tien (4) vs. Tommy Paul (5)

¹ Kane, David. "Elina Svitolina 'fights like Ukraine,' wins three-hour Dubai tussle vs. Coco Gauff." Tennis.com, Feb 20, 2026. link

² TENNIS.com. "Inspired by his mom's attendance, Learner Tien mounts Delray Beach comeback against Tiafoe." Tennis.com, Feb 21, 2026. link

³ ⁴ Coombe, Jerome. "Alcaraz converts 6th MP vs. Rublev, awaits Fils in Doha final." ATPTour.com, Feb 20, 2026. link

⁵ Garber, Greg and Kallet, Brad. "Advantage Pegula or Svitolina in the Dubai final?" WTATennis.com, Feb 20, 2026. link

⁶ WTA Staff. "Svitolina outlasts Gauff in marathon to return to Dubai final after eight years." WTATennis.com, Feb 20, 2026. link

⁷ ATP Staff. "Paul ousts top seed Fritz in Delray Beach." ATPTour.com, Feb 21, 2026. link

Additional Sources

Kane, David. "Carlos Alcaraz dethrones Andrey Rublev, rides unbeaten streak into Doha final." Tennis.com, Feb 20, 2026. link

TENNIS.com. "Jessica Pegula now 5-0 against Amanda Anisimova after working way back into Dubai semifinal." Tennis.com, Feb 20, 2026. link

TENNIS.com. "Arthur Fils adds 'hell of a champion' Goran Ivanisevic to coaching team for trial run." Tennis.com, Feb 20, 2026. link

Rouquette, Cédric. "Fils sets up blockbuster Alcaraz final after powering past exhausted Mensik." Tennis Majors, Feb 20, 2026. link

Berkok, John. "Tomas Martin Etcheverry records 100th win of career to reach Rio de Janeiro semifinals." Tennis.com, Feb 20, 2026. link

Infobae Peru. "Ignacio Buse venció a Matteo Berrettini y se metió a semifinales del ATP 500 de Río." Infobae, Feb 20, 2026. link

Tennis Majors. "Buse silences Rio to stun home favorite Fonseca to reach the quarter finals." Tennis Majors, Feb 20, 2026. link

ATP Staff. "Korda upsets Ruud, returns to Delray Beach SFs." ATPTour.com, Feb 20, 2026. link

ATP Staff. "Shelton withdraws from Acapulco." ATPTour.com, Feb 20, 2026. link

TENNIS.com. "Venus Williams awarded Indian Wells main draw wild card for singles and doubles." Tennis.com, Feb 21, 2026. link

Bambini, Cole. "Svitolina vs. Pegula: Everything to know about the Dubai Tennis Championship final." WTATennis.com, Feb 20, 2026. link

Tignor, Steve. "Big names, varied fields, no byes, more money, little downtime: On the rise of the 500." Tennis.com, Feb 20, 2026. link

Regueiro, Juan Manuel. "End of the road for Cerúndolo in a Río that leaves good conclusions." Canal Tenis, Feb 20, 2026. link

McLean, Ross. "Johnson the youngest since Alcaraz to win ITF World Tennis Tour title." ITFTennis.com, Feb 17, 2026. link

Beatnik, Jack. "The Overlooked Greatness of Marin Cilic." Last Word on Tennis, Feb 20, 2026. link

Lewis, Owen. "The Overthinker." The Second Serve, Feb 19, 2026. link

Nathan, Giri. "A Recipe For Weirdness." The Second Serve, Feb 20, 2026. link