Karolina Muchova celebrates with the winner's trophy. QTSBF President Nasser Al Khelaifi and FIFA President Gianni Infantino are also present.
Doha, Qatar: Karolina Muchova captured her first WTA 1000 title at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open yesterday, ending a long wait for a trophy that stretched back to 2019.
The Czech World No. 19 claimed the biggest title of her career, defeating Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko 6-4, 7-5 in one hour and 34 minutes at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex to win her first championship title since 2019, her second overall.
“It’s been a while since I won a tournament, so it’s nice to get that feeling again,” Muchova said during the presentation ceremony held in the presence of the Qatar Tennis, Squash and Badminton Federation (QTSBF) President Nasser Al Khelaifi, Secretary-General Tareq Zainal and FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
“[I’m] a little bit overwhelmed, to be honest. Everything is happening so fast. I just feel like I left the court, now I’m here. But, yeah, I’m incredibly happy that I was able to win a title,” Muchova, who had defeated Maria Sakkari 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the semi-final on Friday, said.
The Doha title also marks a strong start to 2026 for Muchova, who has extended her run to a 12-2 record over the past six weeks. She is expected to move from world No. 19 to No. 11 when the latest WTA rankings tomorrow.
At a packed centre court yesterday, Muchova played a strong first set, landing 75 percent of her first serves. The Czech did not face a single break point in the 43-minute. Mboko improved on return in the second set and took a 4-2 lead, but the advantage did not last long as Muchova broke back twice and finished the match in 94 minutes.
Muchova praised her opponent, noting the teenager’s maturity and predicting more titles in her future.
“I’d like to congratulate Victoria. You’re still a teenager, but you play with so much maturity. I’m sure you have many titles ahead of you,” she said.
Mboko, meanwhile, confirmed her status as one of the fastest-rising stars on the tour. The 19-year-old has already collected the most match wins on the WTA Tour this year with 13 and will break into the top 10 in the rankings for the first time.
“Looking back at everything, it was a positive week. Karolina played really great tennis, so I have to give props to her. Yeah, I think it’s still the beginning of the year, there’s still the rest of the season,” Mboko said during the post-match press conference.
“I think right now it’s just important to improve and move forward and work on things that need to be worked on,” Mboko added
