A seeded player against an unseeded one :)

A lucky loser, basically..

Moyuka Uchijima, the 24-year-old Japanese player (88th WTA), arrives with confidence earned the hard way. Coached by Timothy Nichols, she’s having a very strong February 2026, having come through qualifying in Doha and then here in Dubai, where she dominated Veronika Erjavec. She’s a player who has clearly taken a big step forward physically, capable of holding her own in endless baseline rallies. Her 2026 season is already marked by impressive consistency, and she usually listens to BTS hits to channel her energy before stepping into the arena.

Anastasia Zakharova, the 24-year-old Russian (105th WTA), has just had a real rollercoaster of a weekend. Narrowly beaten by Cocciaretto in the final qualifying round after a 2h38 battle (6-2, 2-6, 7-5), she was given a second chance as a Lucky Loser after Muchová’s withdrawal. Still coached by her father Vladimir Zakharov, Anastasia has a fearsome, hard-hitting game, as shown by her prestigious win over Haddad Maia not long ago. She steps onto the court absolutely ravenous, with nothing left to lose after coming so close to elimination.

This matchup is a classic from the ITF circuit that has become a regular fixture at top-100 level, and it’s always marked by total uncertainty. Moyuka Uchijima leads 2–0 in their recent meetings, but each clash has been a real war of attrition. Whether it was in Dubai last year (7-6, 4-6, 6-4) or in Doha eight days ago (6-3, 2-6, 6-3), the two players have never managed to settle things in straight sets, dragging each other into battles lasting more than two hours. Zakharova’s firepower systematically runs into Uchijima’s exceptional court positioning, creating a fragile balance that often tips only at the very end of the night (or day).