By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, February 13, 2026
Photo credit: Adelaide International Facebook
Another running drive from Victoria Mboko buzzed by leaving Jelena Ostapenko staring into space and gulping a deep breath of air.
The speedy Mboko suffocated Ostapenko roaring through eight straight games in a 6-3, 6-2 blitz rolling into her first Doha final.
Contesting just her sixth WTA 1000 main draw, Montreal champion Mboko advanced to her second WTA 1000 final winning 12 of the final 15 games.
The 19-year-old Mboko defeated a Grand Slam champion for the second straight day following her 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 quarterfinal triumph over Elena Rybakina yesterday that snapped the Australian Open champion’s nine-match winning streak.
Mboko, who cracked the Top 10 in the Live Rankings yesterday, solidified her official Top 10 status today. Mboko is the fourth Canadian woman to crack the Top 10 joining Carling Bassett-Seguso, Genie Bouchard and 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu achieving that feat.
It’s been a rocket ride up the rankings for Mboko, who was ranked No. 268 at the start of February, 2025.
Riding a dynamic all-court game, Adelaide finalist Mboko plays for her third career championship tomorrow against either 14th-seeded Karolina Muchova or Greek Maria Sakkari, who toppled top-seeded Iga Swiatek in yesterday’s quarterfinals.
In the first meeting between the pair, two-time Doha finalist Ostapenko drew first-break blood at love and backed up the break for a 2-0 lead.
The 10th-seeded Canadian began to spread the court and use her speed to track down Ostapenko drives forcing the former French Open champion to play another ball. Mboko reeled off three games in a row for a 3-2 lead.
The Montreal champion converted her third break point to break for 5-3 then stepped to the line to serve for the opening set.
Ostapenko erased a set point with a bold backhand drive volley down the line.
Surprising the Latvian with a forehand angled drop shot brought Mboko a second set point. When Ostapenko netted a forehand, Mboko snatched the 38-minute opening set.
Striking with even more confidence, Mboko banged a backhand winner down the line breaking to start the second set. Mboko slashed an ace down the T confirming the break for a 2-0 lead after 47 minutes.
Though Ostapenko, when she’s on, can slam flat strikes down the line and hit winners nearly at will, would be winners die when Mboko is on the opposite side of the net.
Running down the Latvian’s drives, Mboko earned double break point in the third game and broke for a 3-0 lead on an Ostapenko double fault.
Though Ostapenko did not play poorly, Mboko’s swarming style and brilliant shot-making on the move saw her drain more errors breaking again for her eighth straight game and a 5-0 second-set lead.
Credit Ostapenko for digging in and clawing through two games in a row to bring a trace of respectability to the scoreboard.
Serving for the final again, Mboko whipped a wide ace for a second match point. When Ostapenko’s final forehand flew wide, Mboko secured her final spot, and official spot in the Top 10, with a routine 74-minute rout.
Mboko will carry a 13-3 record in 2026 into tomorrow’s final where she aims for her third title after Montreal and Hong Kong.