WTA Doha: Zheng Qinwen Secures Back-to-Back Wins in Comeback, Set to Face Australian Open Champion Rybakina!

On February 10, 2026 local time, the second round of the WTA1000 Doha singles event took place. In her second match of the comeback tournament, Zheng Qinwen narrowly defeated American qualifier Parks 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-2 after a grueling 2-hour 48-minute battle, earning her second consecutive win since returning and matching her best performance at Doha.

Zheng Qinwen

In her first-round match the previous day, Zheng Qinwen battled Grand Slam champion Kenin over three sets, overcoming a slow start to turn the match around with powerful serving and baseline shots. In today’s match, Zheng broke serve first in the fifth game of the opening set but then lost her own serve, leading to a tiebreak where Zheng edged out 7-4 to take the set. In the second set, her form dipped slightly, suffering two breaks and losing 3-6. However, she regained composure in the deciding set, securing two breaks to pull ahead and close out the match 6-2. After two consecutive three-set matches, Zheng’s consistent performance signals a positive return to competition.

Wang Xinyu

Zheng Qinwen’s opponent in the third round will be the newly crowned Australian Open champion Rybakina, who defeated Wang Xinyu 6-2, 6-4 in her first match after the Australian Open. Wang lost the first set 2-6 after being broken twice but managed to break back in the second set’s fifth game and led 4-2. Yet Rybakina raised her level late in the set, winning four consecutive games to take the set 6-4. This match marked Wang’s third straight loss against Rybakina.

In other matches, the singles draw saw numerous upsets as four top-10 seeds—Gauff, Paolini, Alexandrova, and Noskova—were eliminated. Fourth seed Gauff fell 4-6, 2-6 to lucky loser Cojocaru, marking her third consecutive first-round exit in Doha. Cojocaru earned her third career top-10 victory and reached the third round of a 1000-level event for the first time, where she will face fellow American Gauffin for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Sixth seed Paolini was defeated 4-6, 2-6 by Greek star Sakkari, who notched her first top-10 win since last year’s Madrid tournament. Sakkari will face qualifier Grachova in the third round, who upset ninth seed Noskova 6-2, 2-6, 7-5. Last year’s finalist Ostapenko beat eighth seed Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2 to extend her winning streak against Alexandrova to five matches and will meet qualifier Osorio in the next round.

Top seed Swiatek dominated wildcard entrant Indonesian-Chinese player Zeng Limi 6-0, 6-3 and will take on Kasatkina in the third round. Tenth seed Mboko defeated former champion Zvonareva, who came through qualifying, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the round of 16, where she will meet Andreyeva. Fourteenth seed Muchova convincingly beat compatriot Valentova 6-1, 6-4 and will face fellow Czech player Karolina Pliskova in the third round.

Chinese player Jiang Xinyu and partner Acry were defeated 3-6, 1-6 by the strong defending champion duo of Errani and Paolini, missing out on a quarterfinal spot. After losing 4-6, 0-6 to Kasatkina, Mertens withdrew from doubles due to injury, and her position with Zhang Shuai was replaced by Zhan Haoqing and Tauson.

(Written and edited by Wang Fei; photos by Visual China Group)