Elina Svitolina

World number three Elina Svitolina will join Grand Slam winning stars Venus Williams and Justine Henin as the only back-to-back champion in Dubai if she defends her title in the desert this week. The 23-year-old Ukrainian takes the top seeding at the tournament which will be missing top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki and Simona Halep as well as Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova who opted not to play despite the offer of wildcard. Twelve months ago, Svitolina's title win in Dubai allowed her to break into the top 10 for the first time. However, she returns to the UAE having lost in the second round to Petra Kvitova in neighbouring Doha this week.