Karolina Muchova Wins Qatar Open 2025, Claims First WTA 1000 Title Since 2019
Czech Star Claims First Title In Six Years As Teenager Mboko Secures Landmark Top 10 Breakthrough
Karolina Muchova ended a six-year title drought on Saturday by defeating Canada’s Victoria Mboko 6-4, 7-5 in the final of the Qatar TotalEnergies Open in Doha. The 29-year-old Czech secured her first WTA 1000 crown and second career singles title.
The victory marked Muchova’s first tournament triumph since winning in Seoul in 2019. She told reporters it was “nice to get that feeling again”. The WTA confirmed the result will lift her from No. 19 to No. 11 in Monday’s updated PIF WTA Rankings, three places below her career high.
Muchova’s serve proved decisive. According to the WTA’s official statistics, she won roughly 80% of points behind her first serve and dropped just eight first-serve points across the match. She converted three of her break opportunities, including the decisive break for 6-5 in the second set, before serving out the title in one hour and 34 minutes.
Mboko, 19, briefly led 4-2 in the second set after breaking for the first time, but Muchova immediately responded to regain control. The Canadian converted her only break point of the match, while Muchova won a total of 73 points to Mboko’s 61, underlining the narrow margins.
Despite the defeat, Mboko’s run represented a significant milestone. The BBC reported she began the 2025 season ranked outside the top 300 but has recorded more match wins than any other player on the women’s tour this year. The WTA projects she will rise to No. 10, becoming just the fourth Canadian woman to reach the Top 10 since rankings were introduced in 1975, joining Carling Bassett Seguso, Bianca Andreescu and Eugenie Bouchard.
The title also ended one of the longest gaps between first and second career titles among active players. According to the WTA, only Sorana Cirstea (13 years) and Viktorija Golubic (eight) have waited longer in the current field. Muchova had previously lost four finals in that span, falling to top-level opponents including Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Zheng Qinwen.
Attention now turns to the Dubai Championships, the next WTA 1000 event starting Sunday. BBC Sport reported that world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 2 Iga Swiatek will not compete, citing fitness and scheduling reasons respectively.
