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Karolina Muchova pulled off an impressive surprise win to defeat Victoria Mboko and earn herself a big leap up the rankings.

It was the 29-year-old’s first WTA 1000 title but one she was not made to work too hard for, taking the first set 6-4 before securing the match via a 7-5 win in the second.

Muchova had lost five finals before this occasion, two of which were WTA 1000 events, but she overcame those previous demons to become the first Czech winner on the WTA Tour since 2019.

As for Mboko, her impressive rise in the world of tennis hit a road bump but she still has achieved a place in the top 10 for the first time in her career.

What is Karolina Muchova and Victoria Mboko’s new ranking?

Muchova earned 1000 points for her success in Doha which saw her rise an impressive eight spots up the rankings, going from 19th to 11th.

That takes her just three spots away from career-best of No.8 ahead of the Dubai Championships.

As for Mboko, her semi-final victory confirmed her first entry into the top 10 and the 640 points she earned in Doha sees her just 14 behind No.9’s Elina Svitolina.

Mboko’s previous career best was 13th but her performances in Doha has seen her rise up three spots.

What prize money has Karolina Muchova and Victoria Mboko earned from Doha?

For winning the tournament, Muchova earned $665,000 in prize money, taking her total tally to $11,482,721. So far this year, Muchova has won $1,060,691 of which $7,815 was earned from doubles matches.

As for Mboko, she pocketed $385,001 for finishing as runner-up, taking her total tally to $2,524,268. This year, the 19-year-old has won $1,006,979 in prize money.

 

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Having retired from the Qatar Open due to illness, Emma Raducanu returns to action this week with the Dubai Open Championships and her first opponent has been named.

The Briton is competing in the WTA 1000 tournament for the second time in her career having reached the second round last year.

Who is Emma Raducanu’s Dubai Open Championships opponent?

In the Round of 64, Raducanu has been drawn against Elisabetta Cocciaretto who beat Anastasia Zakharova and Donna Vekic in the qualifiers to make it to the tournament proper.

Cocciaretto is a 25-year-old player from Italy and is currently ranked at No.56 in the world, 31 places lower than Raducanu.

In her career to date, she has achieved a best ranking of No.29 in August 2023 and has won two titles, the 2023 Ladies Open Lausanne and the 2026 Hobart International.

She recently made headlines after she beat Coco Gauff in Doha, having entered the main draw as a lucky loser.

Cocciaretto pulled off the upset in the second round, beating Gauff 6-4, 6-2 and credited the Winter Olympics taking place in her home country of Italy as an inspiration.

“I think this week it’s a bit different for us in Italy,” she said. “Now I’m more focused on the Winter Olympics than for the tournament.

“Maybe cheering for the Italian athletes is the key, that’s why I’m playing better maybe!”

In the Grand Slams, she has reached the fourth round of the French Open, the third round of Wimbledon and the second round in both Australia and the United States.

Like Raducanu, this is Cocciaretto’s second appearance in Dubai and she reached the second round last year, losing to Gauff.

What is Emma Raducanu and Elisabetta Cocciaretto’s head-to-head record?

These two have actually never played each other before so it will be another new opponent for Raducanu’s record.

To date, Raducanu has faced 132 different players on the ITF and WTA Tours since she turned pro in 2018.

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Newly-crowned Australian Open champion Carlos Alcaraz has been handed a fairly comfortable draw at the Qatar Open while Jannik Sinner could face Jakub Mensik and Alexander Bublik.

Fresh from becoming the youngest player to complete the Career Grand Slam by winning the hard-court at Melbourne Park, Alcaraz will look to continue his winning streak at the ATP 500 event

The seven-time major champion will kick off his campaign against French No 1 Arthur Rinderknech in what will be a fifth career meeting between the pair with the Spaniard victorious in all four previous encounters, including in the round of 16 during his title run at the US Open last September.

The winner of that clash will take on either Valentin Royer or a qualifier in the second round while seventh seed Karen Khachanov is a projected quarter-final opponent.

Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev and defending champion Andrey Rublev will likely battle it out for a semi-final spot in the bottom part of the top half of the draw.

2023 champion Medvedev faces Shang Juncheng first up while he could take on the out-of-sorts Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round before a possible showdown with two-time Doha winner Rublev, who starts his campaign against Jesper de Jong.

World No 2 Sinner is certainly in the tougher half of the draw as he will face Czech world No 31 Tomas Machac in the first round before a possible clash against Alexei Popyrin or wildcard Mubarak Al-Harrasi.

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The four-time Grand Slam winner is projected to meet sixth seed Mensik, who takes on a qualifier first up, in the quarter-final and third seed Bublik in the semi-final.

Mensik, of course, reached the quarter-final of the Australian Open and was expected to give Novak Djokovic a big challenge, but the Czech was unable to take to court as he withdrew due to an abdominal injury.

Djokovic – who was due to be the third seed in Doha before withdrawing from the tournament this week – received a walkover in Melbourne and then defeated Sinner in the semi-final before losing the final against Alcaraz.

Bublik, meanwhile, will also open against a qualifier while he could meet Arthur Fils in the third round and eighth seed Jiri Lehecka in the quarter-final.

Projected Quarter-Finals:

Alcaraz v Khachanov
Medvedev v Rublev
Lehecka v Bublik
Mensik v Sinner

Rublev defeated Jack Draper in three sets in the 2025 Qatar Open with Alcaraz losing in the quarter-final against Lehecka. Sinner did not compete as he was completing his three-month ban following his positive doping tests in March 2024.

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Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina will likely have to beat Qatar Open finalist Karolina Muchova, world No 9 Elina Svitolina and two-time Grand Slam winner Coco Gauff if she is to reach the final of the Dubai Tennis Championship.

With world No 1 Aryna Sablaneka and world No 2 Iga Swiatek withdrawing from the WTA 1000 event, Rybakina has inherited the top seed status and she – along with the other top eight seeds – will have a bye into the second round.

The Kazakh star will start her campaign against either Tatjana Maria or a qualifier before a possible meeting with 15th seed Muchova in the third round.

Muchova, who will face Victoria Mboko in the final of the Qatar Open on Saturday, starts off against a qualifier or a lucky loser and if she wins her opener she could face Emma Raducanu in the second round. Raducanu also faces a lucky loser/qualifier in the first round.

If seedings hold, then Rybakina is scheduled to face seventh seed Svitolina in the quarter-final although the Ukrainian has a tough path.

She faces either Paula Badosa or Katerina Siniakova in the second round before a possible meeting with ninth seed Belinda Bencic in the third round.

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Rybakina is projected to meet third seed Gauff in the last four of the tournament, but the American has struggled recently as she is coming off a shock second-round exit in Doha.

The third seed will face either Jelena Ostapenko – a semi-finalist in Qatar – or Anna Kalinskaya – who reached the quarter-final this week – in the second round while 14th seed Emma Navarro is a possible third round opponent.

A Gauff-Jasmine Paolini quarter-final is on the cards, but the latter will likely have to navigate her way past Alex Eala, who faces a qualifier/lucky loser in the first round, and 10th seed Linda Noskova en route to the last eight.

World No 4 Anisimova headlines the bottom half of the draw and she will start against either Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova or Barbora Krejcikova while she could meet 13th seed Liudmila Samsonova in the third round and defending champion Mirra Andreeva in the quarter-final.

However, Andreeva will likely have to beat the in-form Victoria Mboko, a finalist in Qatar, in the third round.

The fifth-seeded Andreeva faces either Laura Siegemund or Daria Kasatkina in the second round while 11th seed Mboko starts her campaign against Jaqueline Cristian before a possible meeting with Cristina Bucsa.

The winner of Section 4 will likely face fourth seed Jessica Pegula in the semi-final with the American handed a kind draw.

Pegula starts against a lucky loser/qualifier in the second round before a possible all-American clash against 18-year-old compatriot Iva Jovic while she is projected to meet eighth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the quarter-final.

Projected Dubai Quarter-Finals:

Rybakina v Svitolina
Gauff v Paolini
Alexandrova v Pegula
Andreeva v Anisimova

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Victoria Mboko is through to her second WTA 1000 final after she delivered a stellar display to defeat Jelena Ostapenko at the 2026 Qatar Open.

The Canadian star prevailed 6-3, 6-2 against world No 24 Ostapenko in an hour and 14 minutes in the semi-finals of the WTA 1000 tournament in Doha.

At the age of 19 years and 166 days, Mboko is the fourth-youngest finalist at the WTA Qatar Open since the event was founded in 2001 after Maria Sharapova (2005), Svetlana Kuznetsova (2004) and Ostapenko (2016).

The Canadian is aiming to win her second WTA 1000 title to add to her victory in Montreal last year, and she is chasing a third WTA Tour title overall.

In her on-court interview, Mboko said: “Yeah, I mean it’s crazy. She was playing really great tennis from the start, so I felt like I had to step it up.

“I’m happy to be here in the final and I wanna thank everyone who came to support because there’s a lot of people. It’s a lot more each round.”

Asked how she felt physically after playing deciding sets in previous rounds, Mboko said: “I feel pretty good. It’s a part of the game, sometimes you have really long matches, sometimes it can be shorter, but it’s important to rest up and take recovery into perspective and just do everything I can to be ready for tomorrow.”

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Mboko has clinched a major rankings milestone

After reaching the semi-finals in Doha, current world No 13 Mboko climbed three places in the Live WTA Rankings to a new projected career-high ranking of 10th.

If Mboko had lost to Ostapenko, it was possible that she could have been overtaken by Karolina Muchova — who is playing Maria Sakkari in the second semi-final.

However, by reaching the championship match, Mboko has ensured that she will make her top 10 debut when the rankings update next week.

She has moved onto 3,246 points in the live rankings, while Muchova can earn a maximum of 3,058 points if she lifts the title.

If Mboko wins the final, her points total will jump to 3,596, which would see her overtake Elina Svitolina and become the world No 9.

READ NEXT: WTA stars call for more privacy after ‘invasive’ Coco Gauff camera incident

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The Dubai Championships is the next stop on the WTA Tour, and the prestigious tournament has suffered a double blow as Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek have both withdrawn.

The WTA 1000 event in Dubai will be held from Sunday February 15 to Saturday 21 after the conclusion of the ongoing Qatar Open — a WTA 1000 in Doha.

Sabalenka and Swiatek are ranked first and second and would have been the top two seeds in Dubai.

The stars both confirmed their decisions in statements reported by tennis journalist Reem Abulleil, with Sabalenka saying she is “not feeling 100%” and Swiatek citing a “change of schedule” as her reason.

Sabalenka: “I’m really sorry I have to withdraw from Dubai. I have such a special connection with the tournament, the fans and the city. Unfortunately, I am not feeling 100%. But I hope to be back next year and wish the tournament a great event.”

Swiatek: “I am sorry to announce that I will not be playing Dubai this year due to a change of schedule. I hope I will come back next year to experience the great tournament. See you guys in Indian Wells.”

Sabalenka also pulled out of the Qatar Open, and she has not played since losing to Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open final last month.

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Swiatek, meanwhile, reached the quarter-finals in Doha this week, where she suffered a surprise loss to Maria Sakkari.

Rybakina, the world No 3, will be the top seed in Dubai in the absence of the top two, while fourth-ranked Amanda Anisimova has been bumped up to the No 2 seed position.

Sabalenka and Swiatek both said they would skip WTA events last month

Sabalenka and Swiatek have both spoken out about the demands of the tennis schedule and criticised the WTA’s mandatory tournaments rules.

Ahead of the 2026 Australian Open, Sabalenka outlined her intention to skip events this season to protect her body.

“The rules are quite tricky with mandatory events, but I’m still skipping a couple of events in order to protect my body, because I struggled a lot last season,” said the Belarusian.

“Even though the results were really consistent, some of the tournaments I had been playing completely sick or I’ve been really exhausted from overplaying. This season, we will try to manage it a little bit better, even though they are going to fine me by the end of the season.

“But it’s tricky to do that. You cannot skip 1000 events. It’s really tricky, and I think that’s insane what they do. I think they just follow their interests, but they’re not focusing on protecting all of us.”

After her Australian Open quarter-final exit, Swiatek echoed Sabalenka’s sentiments.

“I think we’ll skip some 1000 tournaments,” the Pole said.

“I was never in this position, so I don’t know what the result will be, but I think it’s necessary, because if you want to improve your game, unless I want to stay the same and just prepare for every tournament, then I can do that as well.

“I’ll play well, but if I want to improve something, it will be nice to have some time. Unfortunately, calendar doesn’t give that.”

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The semi-finals at the Qatar Open WTA 1000 tournament are set, and there has already been some significant movement in the Race to the WTA Finals in Riyadh.

The eight women who earn the most ranking points in the 2026 season will qualify for the season-ending WTA Finals, which will be staged in Riyadh from 7 to 14 November.

The prestigious tournament, which was first held in 1972, is staged on indoor hard-court at the King Saud University Indoor Arena.

Elena Rybakina is the reigning WTA Finals champion having secured a record-breaking $5,235,000 for winning last year’s event.

If a current-year Grand Slam winner finishes between ninth and 20th in the Race, they will take the eighth and final qualification spot.

The players who finish ninth and 10th will travel to Saudi Arabia as alternates and have the chance to take the place of any players who withdraw.

Rybakina, who is third in the WTA Rankings, has extended her lead at the top of the Race after reaching the quarter-finals in Doha.

The Kazakh, who won the 2026 Australian Open, has boosted her points total by 215 points to 2,323.

World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka chose not to compete at the Qatar Open, and she remains second in the Race with 1,800 points.

Victoria Mboko defeated Rybakina in the quarter-finals in Doha, and her run to the last four has seen her surge to third in the Race.

The 19-year-old Canadian is on 1,237 points, and she could jump to 1,497 if she wins her semi-final against Jelena Ostapenko, while she could reach 1,847 points — which would see her overtake Sabalenka — if she lifts the title.

Elina Svitolina is in fourth position on 1,150 points after reaching the last 16 in Qatar, while Jessica Pegula — who did not play this week — remains fifth with 975 points.

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Mirra Andreeva exited the Qatar Open in the last 16, and she is in the No 6 position in the Race on 968 points.

Karolina Muchova’s run to the semi-finals in Doha has increased her points total by 390 points to 825, which has lifted her to seventh.

The Czech can move onto 1,085 points if she wins her semi-final against Maria Sakkari, while winning the title would take her tally to 1,435 — which could take her as high as third.

World No 2 Iga Swiatek is eighth in the Race with 795 points after a quarter-final exit in Doha.

Iva Jovic and Belinda Bencic, who have not played since the Australian Open, are ninth and 10th, while Coco Gauff is 11th with 590 points after losing her opening match in Qatar.

Elisabetta Cocciaretto, Sara Bejlek and Wang Xinyu sit 12th, 13th and 14th respectively.

Live WTA Race to Riyadh (as of 13 February)

1) Elena Rybakina – 2,323
2) Aryna Sabalenka – 1,800
3) Victoria Mboko – 1,237
4) Elina Svitolina – 1,150
5) Jessica Pegula – 975
6) Mirra Andreeva – 968
7) Karolina Muchova – 825
8) Iga Swiatek – 795
Cutoff
9) Iva Jovic – 691
10) Belinda Bencic – 624
11) Coco Gauff – 590
12) Elisabetta Cocciaretto – 575
13) Sara Bejlek – 565
14) Wang Xinyu – 552
15) Maria Sakkari – 551

Sakkari has made a massive 47-place jump to 15th in the Race as her semi-final run in Doha has taken her points total to 551. The Greek could move to 811 points if she wins her semi-final and 1,161 if she claims the trophy.

Ostapenko has soared 55 positions to 16th in the Race with 522 points for making the last four, and she would go to 782 if she reached the final and 1,132 for winning the title.

World No 4 Amanda Anisimova is in 17th position with 500 points after retiring in the opening match of her Qatar Open title defence.

READ NEXT: Emma Raducanu ‘still a distance from her physical prime’ – leading injury expert amid Brit’s struggles

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Coco Gauff’s off-court racket-smashing moment after her Australian Open exit has raised questions about the lack of privacy afforded to tennis players at tournaments.

After suffering a humbling 6-1, 6-2 quarter-final defeat in just 59 minutes at the hands of Elina Svitolina at Melbourne Park, Gauff sought out a private space outside the main Rod Laver Arena to take out her frustration on her racket – or so she thought.

The incident was captured on camera, and it quickly went viral on social media with some criticising the two-time Grand Slam winner, but her fellow players quickly came to her defence.

“I tried to go somewhere where they wouldn’t broadcast it, but obviously they did,” Gauff said. “So maybe some conversations can be had because I feel like at this tournament the only private place we have is the locker room.”

Six-time major winner Iga Swiatek was one of those who raised questions about privacy as she said: “The question is, are we tennis players, or are we animals in the zoo where they are observed even when they poop? That was exaggerating, obviously, but it would be nice to have some privacy.”

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It is certainly a topic that needs further discussion, as it would make sense for the cameras to be switched off once players leave the court.

2021 Olympic singles gold medallist Belinda Bencic says it often feels like players are part of a reality show as she told The National: “It’s not comfortable at all.

“You have that in your mind always, but you cannot be free, even in a positive way, but also in a negative way. You always feel watched and it feels almost like you’re in a reality show, to be honest.

“I’m not a big fan of it. I know it’s super interesting for the fans and for people watching that. And I guess Tennis Twitter can gossip about us, but it’s not really what we’re here for.”

The former world No 4 added: “And Coco deserves her moment of privacy. She just played in a stadium where she had to keep her emotions together. And then she goes outside of the stadium and she has to still keep her emotions together. It’s not possible.”

Bencic has seen it all as she has been on the WTA Tour for more than a decade, but rising star Alex Eala is still coming to grips with life as a professional tennis player.

The 20-year-old made her top-level breakthrough last year and with it comes a struggle for privacy.

“I am learning to deal with a lot of, you know, these cameras and a lot of the times when people see me, the phone is the first thing they reach out for. Which is something that I have to adjust to,” the Filipina said.

“I do value privacy a lot. I think everyone has the right to their own privacy and sometimes being a public figure, the lines are a little bit blurred.

“Or sometimes I can understand that we don’t have the power to draw our own line. I think everybody should have the right to draw the line of privacy.”

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Alex Eala has tasted mixed fortunes during the Middle East swing, though the star has now been handed an unexpected boost for the upcoming Dubai Tennis Championships.

The 20-year-old started this swing at the Abu Dhabi Open and went on an impressive run to the quarter-final, propelling her to a career-high of 40th in the WTA Rankings.

However, Eala then tasted defeat in the opening round of the Qatar Open in Doha, falling to Tereza Valentova at the first WTA 1000 event of the 2026 season.

The Filipina’s positive momentum appeared to stall with her early defeat in Doha, though the star has now been handed the chance to test herself against the best players in the world in Dubai — the second WTA 1000 event of the year.

Why is Eala now in the Dubai main draw?

Entry lists for WTA Tour events are made six weeks before the tournament takes place, and Eala was not ranked high enough to enter the main draw at that time.

However, a string of pre-tournament withdrawals has now cleared the path for the Filipina to enter the main draw, securing her debut appearance at the prestigious event.

It was the withdrawal of world No 15 Naomi Osaka that ultimately enabled Eala to enter the main draw, though the four-time Grand Slam champion is not the only other player out of the event.

Fellow major champions Marketa Vondrousova and Madison Keys have also withdrawn, with Lois Boisson, McCartney Kessler, Veronika Kudermetova, and Eva Lys also set to be absent.

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The string of withdrawals ultimately means that Eala is now in the main draw by right and will not have to win two qualifying matches to compete in the main draw of the WTA 1000 event.

The 20-year-old has never competed at the tournament previously, not even in qualifying, meaning this now presents a significant opportunity for her.

Eala is unseeded in the draw and could face a 9-16 seed in the opening round of the event, with only the top eight seeds in the women’s singles draw receiving an opening-round bye.

Mirra Andreeva is the defending champion at the tournament, with Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek also set to be in action.

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