Canadian tennis star Victoria Mboko advances to the semi-finals of the Qatar Open tennis tournament after another win.
The 19-year-old from Toronto earned a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 quarterfinal victory over second-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, the 2026 Australian Open champion, on Thursday. The 10th-seeded Mboko had reached the quarterfinals by beating fifth seed Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) on Wednesday.
The Canadian won in dramatic fashion on Thursday, ending the match with her sixth break of service. After Mboko jumped out to a 40-0 lead in the 10th game, Rybakina fought back to deuce, but Mboko took the next two points to complete the stunning upset.
Mboko finished 6 of 12 in break attempts, while Rybakina was 5 of 9. Rybakina fired eleven aces in the match, compared to six for the Canadian.
Three service breaks secured Mboko’s victory in the opening set. Rybakina moved ahead 5-3 with a break and a hold, but Mboko held serve and then broke again to make the set 5-5.
The Canadian took the set with her third break, despite fewer aces (two, compared to four for Rybakina) and a double fault (Rybakina had none). Rybakina also registered two service breaks in the first set.
Rybakina broke for the third time in the opening game of the second set and held a 3-1 lead. Mboko replied with her fourth break to level at 3–3, but Rybakina broke again for 4–3 and served the set at 6–4 to force a deciding set.
Mboko improved her record to 12-3 this season. She is coming off a breakout campaign in 2025 in which she won two titles, including a WTA 1000 crown at the National Bank Open in Montreal.
She entered the Qatar Open with a career-high 13th and is expected to move into the top 10 after Thursday’s win.
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