Karolina Muchova ended a long wait for a second WTA title by defeating Victoria Mboko 6-4, 7-5 to win the Qatar TotalEnergies Open. The victory carried extra weight: the world No. 19 had not lifted a trophy since the 2019 Korea Open and had suffered four straight runner-up finishes in the interim.

“I would say I nearly forgot the winning feeling, because it’s been really quite a while,” Muchova confessed after defeating Victoria Mboko, 6-4, 7-5 in the final. “To get reminded of it, actually, I was pretty nervous before the match. I’m like, ‘Okay, how am I going to deal with it, how am I going to manage it.’ And then when you actually make it, and I dealt with that pressure I think very good in today’s match, I was just relieved, and the intensity of the feeling of winning, it’s just so nice.”

Famed for a natural, free-flowing style, Muchova has repeatedly reached the latter stages of major events since her lone title in 2019. Her resume includes back-to-back US Open semifinals in 2023 and 2024 and a run to the 2023 Roland Garros final. Those deep runs have come alongside periods affected by injury that sidelined her for extended stretches and complicated attempts to add trophies.

“Last time I played [a final] I really thought I played good that week, and then I lost pretty easily,” she said of a 2024 China Open defeat to Coco Gauff. “So I’m like, then you question yourself a little bit. Like, ‘Can I do it?’ Because, you know, obviously I hear it all around. Everyone’s like saying I only have one title.

“It’s not that I would take it personally, or that it would describe my tennis or me as a person, but I really wanted to prove that to myself that I still have it in me and that I can win. So, I would say I was just very proud how I handled myself today.”

Fit to begin the 2026 season, Muchova is projected to move to No. 11 in the WTA rankings after Doha, three spots shy of her career-high of No. 8. With the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships beginning next week she allowed only a brief pause for celebration. “In tennis everything goes so fast,” said Muchova. “I think sometimes we forget to stop and reflect on the good weeks, or small wins, big wins. My next tournament starts tomorrow! So, it’s really tough. But I would just like to stop for a little bit and enjoy it with my team, and just go somewhere tonight with them and have a good time and maybe reflect a little more.”

That celebration will feature at least one thing in particular.

Victoria Mboko, the Canadian teenager set to enter the Top 10 on Monday, left Doha with a clear sense of progress despite falling short in the championship match. Six months after winning her first WTA 1000 title, Mboko carried that momentum into the 2026 season and reached a second WTA 1000 final at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open.

In the title match she ran into Karolina Muchova and lost 6-4, 7-5. The scoreline reflected a tight contest in which Mboko surrendered a handful of decisive points to a more experienced opponent. Earlier in the week she produced consecutive victories over Top 10 players in Doha, wins that secured her Top 10 debut and underlined how quickly her status on tour has changed.

The shift from underdog to favorite is a new challenge for Mboko. Reaching a second WTA 1000 final in the span of six months confirmed her arrival among the tour’s leading players, but converting that form into another title proved difficult against a player with greater match experience in big finals. The loss to Muchova denied Mboko a second WTA 1000 trophy but did not erase the larger gains of the week.

For now, Mboko will take the ranking milestone and the lessons from the Doha final into the remainder of the 2026 season. The sequence of back-to-back Top 10 victories and a second WTA 1000 final represent a substantive step forward. While the final result was disappointing, the results in Doha delivered both validation and a clearer sense of the expectations that will accompany her as she begins life in the Top 10.

Zeynep Sonmez has announced the end of her sponsorship with Turkish Airlines. The Turkiye No. 1 singles player posted on social media Friday that negotiations over the 2026 season had concluded without a renewal.

“Following sponsorship discussions regarding the 2026 season, the sponsorship relationship with Turkish Airlines will not continue,” Sonmez wrote.

She added a statement of thanks linking her work with the carrier to the opening events of 2026. “I was honored to represent Turkey’s national flag carrier, Turkish Airlines, at the opening tournaments of 2026, including the Australian Open Grand Slam, the Mubadala Abu Dhabi and the Qatar Open event. I carried this responsibility with the same seriousness and respect at all times, both on and off the court.

“I would like to sincerely thank Turkish Airlines for the trust they placed in me and for their support throughout our journey together. I also extend my gratitude to all Turkish Airlines employees, both in the air and on the ground, for their professionalism and continued support.”

The decision has attracted attention coming after Sonmez’s breakthrough results in 2025. The 23-year-old became the first player representing Turkiye to reach the third round of a Grand Slam at Wimbledon in 2025, a milestone she matched at this year’s Australian Open as a qualifier. She was also instrumental in Turkiye’s upset win over Germany in its first-ever Billie Jean King Cup Play-offs appearance.

Sonmez entered the Top 70 last year, reaching a career-high No. 69 in October 2025. At present, no other Turkish player — male or female — is ranked inside the Top 300 of the WTA or ATP listings.

The announcement follows Turkish Airlines’ unveiling of Zheng Qinwen as a global brand ambassador on Feb. 7. The airline, which says it flies to more countries than any other, described the move as part of a strategy to expand in the Asia-Pacific region. Turkish Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Ahmet Olmuştur stated : “As we continue to strengthen our presence across the Asia-Pacific region, this partnership reflects our commitment to connecting the region with the world while supporting excellence in sport and cultural exchange.”

The draft also notes Zheng’s commercial profile and recent return from elbow surgery, and the wider trend of major carriers naming high-profile tennis ambassadors in 2026.