Elena Rybakina reflected positively after a narrow quarterfinal loss at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open, her first tournament since claiming a second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. The No. 2 seed fell to Victoria Mboko in a deciding set, 7-4, 4-6, 6-4, ending her run in the first WTA 1000 event of the season.

Rybakina had been in position to move in the WTA rankings after a quarterfinal exit by top seed Iga Swiatek earlier in the evening, but the Canadian teenager staged a comeback that leveled their head-to-head at two wins each. The week included a demanding three-set match against Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the previous round, which Rybakina said tested her endurance.

Q. Did you feel you had recovered from yesterday’s match? Because you had a tough one against Qinwen [Zheng].

ELENA RYBAKINA: “It was a tough match and I’m actually happy that I managed to give this fight. I hadn’t played such long matches in a long time. In Australia, we always had a day in between and I was playing all the matches in two sets except for the final. I think it was still a good tournament for me. I had to do some stuff outside of the court. I think it’s a good preparation, even for the other tournaments.”

Despite the loss, Rybakina emphasized the positives from a hard-fought week and framed the Doha event as useful preparation for the months ahead. She also made clear her ambitions for the season remain high.

Q. If you could win another Grand Slam this year, would you rather win Wimbledon again or one of the other two?

ELENA RYBAKINA: “All of them! (laughs) There is nothing to choose. It doesn’t matter which Grand Slam. But that’s the goal.”

Maria Sakkari rallied to beat top-seeded Iga Swiatek 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 in a Doha quarterfinal that ended with a video review confirming a double bounce.

The former No. 3 snapped a four-match losing streak to the former world No. 1 and became the first player to beat Swiatek after dropping the opening set at a WTA 1000 event. Swiatek had been 109-0 at this level when she won the first set.

“You’re always the underdog with playing against the No. 2 in the world, especially where I’m coming from,” said Sakkari, a former world No. 2 currently ranked 52nd. “But I kept telling myself, even after the first set, that I was playing good tennis, and that I had to stick to my game plan and the way I was playing. I was aggressive, I was brave, and it worked out really well.”

Sakkari, who has been rebuilding her ranking since falling to No. 90 last spring and reunited with coach Tom Hill, earned two Top 10 wins this week, including a second-round victory over Jasmine Paolini. The win sent her into her first WTA 1000 semifinal since the 2024 BNP Paribas Open.

The match’s decisive moment came late in the third set. Serving at 5-3, Sakkari used the video review to check whether Swiatek had allowed a double bounce before striking the ball. “It’s great that we have it, because imagine if we didn’t have it today,” Sakkari said. “I feel like it’s, you know, it’s very tough also for the umpire to see because you don’t know how they put the racquet. And they’re not, you know, robots, they’re human beings, and they can lose the balance with their vision. It’s the first time I’ve used it, and I’m happy that it exists.”

Swiatek, who had won a similar point at the 2025 Australian Open against Emma Navarro, disputed knowing whether the ball hit twice. “I didn’t know if I, I mean, from the physics, how the ball went,” Swiatek insisted in her post-match press conference. “It was either from the floor or I framed it. So, I wasn’t sure, honestly.”

Sakkari closed out the match after regrouping from a late third-set wobble. “I’m just very happy that I managed to overcome myself in those last two games and come up with some great tennis, and some brave tennis, I would say.”

Iga Swiatek returned to the Qatar TotalEnergies Open and handled her opening match with clinical efficiency, defeating Janice Tjen 6-0, 6-3. The former world No. 1 paused only to silence her phone between media duties, saying, “I should really answer that!” as she hurried back toward the locker room.

Swiatek surrendered just three games to the fast-rising Indonesian, who was competing in the main draw after receiving a wild card. The victory reinforced the Pole’s familiarity with the event: she is a three-time Doha champion and made a sharp start to her campaign.

The opening bagel marked a milestone. That 6-0 set was Swiatek’s 36th at WTA 1000 tournaments, the most by any player in the period covered since 2009. When asked whether she ever felt compelled to concede a game out of sportsmanship, she offered a direct response about her approach to competing and respect for opponents.

Q. This is your 36th 6-0 set in WTA 1000 events, the most for any player. Have you ever felt sorry or like giving one game away at a certain point?

IGA SWIATEK: I think when I was younger, I felt that way. But later on, you know, you just want to win it. It’s sports, so it doesn’t make sense to stop or play 80%. I’m here to perform my best. I also always felt it wouldn’t be respectful towards the opponent to give them something because we’re here to play our best. I always just try to focus on myself and that’s it.

Swiatek’s opening-round result in Doha was straightforward and decisive. Her performance left little doubt about her intent at the tournament and extended a statistical lead in dominant WTA 1000 set scores.