Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina was eliminated from the Qatar Open on Thursday losing her quarterfinal 5-7, 6-4, 4-6 to Victoria Mboko.
The match lasted seven minutes in two and a half hours and Mboko underlined his growing reputation in an exciting contest.
Mboko, who had already defeated Rybakina in the Montreal semifinals last year, managed to break the Kazakh’s serve three times in the first set alone.
On the other hand, he lost twice, but that was enough to take the first set 7-5. She lost serve again twice in the second set, which Rybakina won 6-4.
But the 19-year-old Canadian had the final say in the final set, winning 6-4.
Mboko, who was swept by world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the last 16 in Melbourne, will face last year’s runner-up Jelena Ostapenko in the semi-finals in Doha.
The Latvian, who won the French Open in 2017, advanced by beating Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto 7-5, 6-4.
Posted on February 13, 2026