Rocket-like rise! Can the Canadian rising star win a Grand Slam?

The 2026 WTA1000 Doha event has wrapped up both the singles and doubles finals. In the doubles final that ended earlier, 4th seeds Danilina and Krunic achieved a stunning turnaround after trailing 0-6, 2-5, saving match points to defeat the 3rd seeds Hsieh and Ostapenko. This victory is their first joint title at a 1000-level tournament.

The singles final was contested between Mboko and Muchova, with Muchova prevailing 6-4, 7-5 to claim her second career tour singles title. After earning 1000 ranking points and $665,000 in prize money, Muchova’s world ranking has risen to 11th.

For Muchova, this title was a long-awaited triumph. The last time a Czech player won a tour-level title was back in the 2019 Seoul 250 event. Fortunately, she has now captured a high-level 1000 tournament crown.

Although Mboko finished runner-up, the 650 points earned will help her continue to improve her career-best ranking. Currently, she sits at 10th in the world, and her rapid rise in the Canadian rankings is truly rocket-like.

It’s worth noting that as recently as January last year, Mboko was ranked only 337th worldwide. After reaching the third round at the French Open, she broke into the top 100 for the first time. Later, winning the WTA1000 Montreal home tournament in August propelled her directly to 23rd in the rankings.

At the start of this season, Mboko reached the round of 16 at the Australian Open and entered the top 15. Then during the Middle East swing, her runner-up finish in Doha confirmed she will debut in the top ten in next week’s updated rankings.

From outside the top 300 to the top ten in just 13 months, Mboko, born August 26, 2006, is still not yet 20 years old. If she maintains steady performance and continues to improve her skills, her world ranking has the potential to climb even higher.

Currently, Mboko is the third youngest player in the WTA top 40, only older than Jovic and Andrejeva. Andrejeva consistently ranks in the top ten, while Jovic has emerged strongly this season.

“I hope you all have many exciting matches ahead, and I look forward to playing more against you. I want to thank my team and my dad for their support this week. Although the final result wasn’t what I hoped for, I believe I gained many positive experiences. Thank you all so much.”

Mboko expressed these words during her runner-up speech, and fans eagerly anticipate that this young Canadian star will continue to bring surprises. What do you think — does she have a chance to win a Grand Slam title?(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Barbie)