WTA Doha: From No.211 to the Top 10 in Just One Year! Mboko to Battle Muchova for the Title

Despite numerous surprises at this WTA1000 Doha event, with all top eight seeds failing to make the semifinals, the final matchup remains a highly anticipated “seed clash.” The 19-year-old Canadian rising star and 10th seed Mboko continued her strong performance by defeating former French Open champion and last year’s runner-up Ostapenko in straight sets. She will face the 14th seed, 29-year-old Czech veteran Muchova, who came back from behind in three sets against Sakkari in the semifinals.

Mboko

In the first women’s singles semifinal, Mboko convincingly beat Ostapenko 6-3, 6-2, marking another milestone — breaking into the world’s top ten for the first time. She becomes the fourth Canadian woman, after Carling Bassett-Seguso, Bouchard, and Andreescu, to reach the top ten. Just a year ago, Mboko was competing in a W35 event in the UK, ranked only No.211, with just one WTA main draw appearance and no wins.

Over the past year, the young Canadian has claimed two tour titles: the WTA1000 in Montreal and the WTA250 in Hong Kong. This season she has maintained consistent results, finishing runner-up at the WTA500 Adelaide event (losing to Andreyeva in the final) and reaching the Round of 16 at the Australian Open (losing to Sabalenka). Now, in Doha, she has reached her second WTA1000 final; a title would move her ranking up to ninth, while a runner-up finish would place her tenth.

"This is simply unbelievable," Mboko said in a post-match interview. "I never expected everything to happen so quickly. I just focused on improving every day and playing well at each tournament. Every time I compete, I aim to do my best but don’t put too much pressure on myself. It’s not about having to win, but about giving my all. This breakthrough into the top ten came fast, but it feels amazing. Reaching this milestone and seeing that number on the rankings makes me really happy."

At the same time, Mboko remains grounded about the future: "I never set specific goals because I like to surprise myself along the way. Tennis is full of ups and downs. Whatever happens, staying positive is essential for growth. As long as you enjoy what you do, you will eventually reap rewards. Who knows what surprises the future holds?"

Muchova

In the second women’s singles semifinal, Muchova battled through three sets to overturn Sakkari 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, reaching her third WTA1000 final and continuing her pursuit of her first title at this level. Although Muchova had previously beaten Sakkari in all four encounters, she faced a tough situation down 3-6, 0-2 but kept applying pressure in the latter stages and turned the match around with efficient attacking play.

Muchova’s only tour singles title so far came at the 2019 Seoul event. Since then, she has reached finals at several high-level tournaments without clinching the crown, including the 2023 French Open, 2023 WTA1000 Cincinnati, and 2024 WTA1000 China Open. Will she break the curse and capture her biggest title yet in Doha? We await eagerly to see.

This final will be the first meeting between Muchova and Mboko. Looking ahead to the match, the Czech said: "Her performance here has been remarkable. Ever since her breakthrough last year, everyone has witnessed her rise. She’s definitely a fantastic and talented player, so this will be a tough battle." With the final points, Muchova’s ranking will rise to 13th, and if she wins the title, she will move up to 11th.

Although Ostapenko lost in the singles semifinal, she still made it to the doubles final on her favored ground. Partnering with Hsieh Su-wei, they defeated the defending champions and top seeds Errani and Paolini 7-5, 3-6, 10-6 in the doubles semifinal. They will face the 4th seeds Danilina and Krunic for the championship.

(Article and editing by Wang Fei, photos by Visual China)