By The Canadian Press

Canada’s Victoria Mboko upsets Elena Rybakina to reach Qatar Open semifinals

Feb 12, 2026 | 11:52 AM

DOHA — It’s off to the semifinals at the Qatar Open tennis tournament for Canadian tennis star Victoria Mboko following yet another upset victory.

The 19-year-old from Toronto earned a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 quarterfinal win Thursday over second-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, the 2026 Australian Open champion. The 10th-seeded Mboko had reached the quarterfinals by upsetting fifth seed Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) on Wednesday.

The Canadian won Thursday in dramatic fashion, sealing the match with her sixth service break. After Mboko jumped out to a 40-0 lead in the 10th game, Rybakina fought back to deuce, but Mboko took the next two points to complete the stunning upset.

Mboko finished 6-of-12 in break attempts while Rybakina was 5-of-9. Rybakina fired 11 aces in the match, compared to six for the Canadian.

Three service breaks powered Mboko’s opening-set win. Rybakina moved ahead 5-3 with a break and a hold, but Mboko held serve and then broke again to level the set at 5-5.

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The Canadian clinched the set with her third break despite having fewer aces (two, compared to four for Rybakina) and a double-fault (Rybakina had none). Rybakina also registered two first-set service breaks of her own.

Rybakina broke for the third time in the opening game of the second set and held for a 3-1 lead. Mboko answered with her fourth break to pull even at 3-3, but Rybakina broke again for 4-3 and served out the set 6-4 to force a deciding set.

Mboko improved her record to 12-3 this season. She’s coming off a breakout 2025 campaign in which she won two titles, including a WTA 1000-level crown at the National Bank Open in Montreal.

She entered the Qatar Open with a career-high ranking of 13th and is projected to move into the top 10 following Thursday’s victory.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 12, 2026.

The Canadian Press