Reluctantly settling for the runner-up position, Mboko became the fourth youngest player to reach the Doha Open final.

Last Saturday, during the WTA1000 Doha final, Canadian athlete Mboko fought hard but was defeated 4-6, 5-7 by Czech player Muchova, who had previously made it to a Grand Slam final, resulting in Mboko finishing as runner-up. Nevertheless, her world ranking rose to No. 10, marking the best ranking of her career.

Not only that, she is also among the five youngest players in history to reach the Doha final. So, who are these five players? In which years did they reach the Doha final? And where does Mboko rank among them? Today, this article will take you through the details.

Mentioning Swiss player Hingis, many fans are familiar with her. As early as 1992, at just 12 years old, she won the French Open junior title at Roland Garros, becoming the youngest player ever to win a Grand Slam junior championship. Later, Hingis also claimed the French Open and Wimbledon junior titles in 1994.

In 2001, Hingis, who had already won five Grand Slam titles, was the top seed at Doha and received a first-round bye. In the second round, she defeated wildcard Venezuelan player MA Vento in straight sets to advance. Afterwards, Hingis gained momentum, beating eighth seed South African J Kruger and fourth seed Austrian player Schett to reach the final.

In the final, she dominated third seed French player Testud 6-3, 6-2, capturing her second tour title of 2001. At that time, Hingis was only 20 years and 135 days old, making her the fifth youngest player to reach the Doha final.

Compared to Hingis, Russian player Kuznetsova is undoubtedly less well-known. She only won her first Grand Slam main draw match at the 2002 Australian Open, much later than Hingis.

In 2004, Kuznetsova at the Doha tournamentwon her first round easily with two 6-1 sets against French player S Cohen-Aloro, advancing smoothly. Perhaps this victory boosted her confidence, as she went on to defeat German player A Barna, American player Sonego, and top seed Belgian Henin, reaching the final.

At that time, Kuznetsova was 18 years and 248 days old, becoming the second youngest player to reach the Doha final. Unfortunately, despite winning the first set 6-4, she was reversed by compatriot Myskina who won two sets 6-4, 6-4. Kuznetsova later won Grand Slam titles at the 2004 US Open and 2009 French Open.

Speaking of Russian player Sharapova, she is a household name. As early as 2003, she was already competing on the Grand Slam main stage. That year, Sharapova advanced to her first Grand Slam round of 16 at Wimbledon. Additionally, she won two tour titles in 2003.

In 2005, already a Grand Slam champion, Sharapova swept past Argentine Dulko, French Bartoli, and Slovak Hantuchova at Doha to reach the final. At just 17 years and 308 days old, she became the youngest player to reach the Doha final. In the final, despite losing the first set, Sharapova fought back to win two consecutive sets, defeating fourth seed Australian Morig to claim the title.

In 2016, Latvian player Ostapenko cruised past Kazakhstan’s Dias in the first round at Doha. She then went on an unstoppable run, defeating two-time Grand Slam champion Russian Kuznetsova, fifth seed Czech Kvitova, as well as Chinese player Zheng Saisai and German Petkovic to reach the final. At 18 years and 259 days old, Ostapenko became the third youngest player to reach the Doha final.

Last week, former WTA1000 champion Mboko won five consecutive matches at Doha to reach the first tour final of the 2026 season. At 19 years and 166 days old, she became the fourth youngest player to reach the Doha final. Although she was narrowly defeated by Czech player Muchova, she achieved a new career milestone. The new generation of tennis prodigies has arrived, and the youthful storm in tennis continues unabated. That’s today’s tennis story; more to come tomorrow.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Yixin Jushi)