Canada’s Victoria Mboko will play for the title at the Qatar Open and is assured of a Top 10 ranking when the WTA standings update Monday.
The 19-year-old from Toronto advanced to the final Friday, defeating Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-2 in their semifinal. Mboko, the tournament’s 10th seed, converted five of nine break-point chances against Ostapenko, who broke twice in four opportunities.
On Thursday, Mboko recorded six service breaks in her 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 upset of second-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, the 2026 Australian Open champion. She reached the quarterfinals by defeating fifth seed Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) on Wednesday.
“It’s kind of crazy,” Mboko said after her semifinal win, per the WTA Tour. “I never expected something to happen so fast for me. I just have been taking it day by day, tournament by tournament. Every tournament I enter, I want to do well. I don’t really hold that much expectation of myself. It’s not like when I enter a tournament I’m going to say I’m going to win it, but you always want to try your best.
“I think this came relatively fast, but it’s a nice feeling. It’s nice to see that, to have that milestone, to see that number. So, yeah, I’m pretty happy with that.”
Mboko finished Friday’s match with six aces and four double faults. Ostapenko, ranked No. 24 in the world, did not record an ace and double-faulted once.
The Canadian will face either Czechia’s Karolina Muchova, the 14th seed, in the final.
With the run, Mboko becomes the fourth Canadian woman to crack the WTA Top 10 in singles, joining Carling Bassett-Seguso, Eugenie Bouchard and Bianca Andreescu.
Mboko was ranked outside the top 300 at the beginning of last season. She went on a big winning run underneath the tour level before capturing the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers title last August in Montreal.
In doubles, Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and Brazil’s Luisa Stefani, the fifth seeds, fell 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinals to fourth seeds Anna Danilina of Kazakhstan and Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia.
— with files from Sportsnet Staff