Young star Victoria Mboko was defeated by Karolina Muchova 6-4 7-5 in the final of the Qatar Open.
The win is the first WTA 1000 title and her first since 2019, ending a seven-year drought for the 14th seed and former French Open finalist.
The Czech Republic’s Muchova won in one hour and 34 minutes in Doha for the second title of her career.
It was a sweet moment for Muhova as she has battled multiple injuries, most notably being sidelined for 10 months following a wrist injury she suffered in 2023.
“It’s been a long time since I won a tournament,” Muchova said. “So it’s nice to get that feeling again. To remember that feeling of winning here in Doha, it’s amazing.”
Muchova racked up an incredible 57 WTA 1000 tournament wins before finally winning the WTA 1000 title. Only three players have earned more WTA 1000 match wins before winning the title.
It was close between the two pairs in the first six games before Muchova then took control and broke to lead 4-3 before serving out the first set 6-4.
She was then full of confidence in the second set and held all three break points, but Mboko wasn’t about to give up without a fight as she went 4-2 up.
However, Muchova then fought back and after moving 6-5 ahead served for the title.
En route to the final, Mboko stunned Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals, and she cruised past Latvia’s Ostapenko in 74 minutes to reach her second WTA 1000 final, after her. dream run to the National Bank Open title in Montreal last August.
Meanwhile, Muhova defeated Maria Sakari 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the second semi-final.
This time last year, Mboko was ranked 211 and on track to win her fourth ITF title in 2025 at the Manchester W35.
She has only played one WTA main draw in her career, and has yet to win a match at that level.
“It was amazing. It’s not the result I wanted, but I think there are so many positives to take away,” said Mboko.
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