Mboko, Gauff suffer marathon doubles loss at Qatar Open tennis tournament

Victoria Mboko of Canada plays a backhand return to Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

DOHA — Toronto’s Victoria Mboko and American partner Coco Gauff lost their opening round doubles match at the Qatar Open on Monday.

Mboko and Gauff dropped a marathon 4-6, 6-4, 11-9 decision to Spain’s Cristina Bucsa and American Nicole Melichar-Martinez, the seventh seeds.

Mboko and Gauff won just 42 per cent of their second-serve points, compared to 64 per cent for Bucsa and Melichar-Martinez, though both teams registered four breaks across the match.

It was a better outcome for Canada’s Leylah Fernandez and French partner Kristina Mladenovic, who earned a 7-5, 7-6 (2) victory over China’s Xinyu Wang and Saisai Zeng.

Fernandez and Mladenovic won despite registering fewer aces (0-4) and more double faults (5-2) than their opponents.

Fernandez and Mladenovic face a stiff test Tuesday when they’re scheduled to face the fourth-seeded pair of Serbian Aleksandra Krunic and Anna Danilinu, a Russian-born Kazakhstani, in the round of 16.