Mboko through to quarterfinals of Qatar Open after upset win over Andreeva

Victoria Mboko of Canada plays a backhand return to Caty McNally of the U.S. during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

DOHA — Rising Canadian tennis star Victoria Mboko is through to the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open after upsetting fifth seed Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) on Wednesday.

Mboko, seeded 10th at the WTA 1000 hardcourt tournament, survived match point when Andreeva committed a double fault before converting a crucial break to tie the third set 5-5.

The Canadian finished off the victory in the tiebreaker by ending a match-point rally with a backhand winner.

The contest was the latest chapter in a budding rivalry between two of the top-10 players in women’s tennis.

They met for the first time last month in the final of the Adelaide International, with the 18-year-old Russian winning 6-3, 6-1.

Mboko improved her record to 11-3 this season. The 19-year-old from Toronto is coming off a breakout 2025 campaign in which she won two titles, including a 1000-level crown at the National Bank Open in Montreal.

She entered the Qatar Open with a career-high world ranking of 13th and could potentially break into the top-10 with a win in the quarterfinals.

Mboko will next face the winner of a third-round match between Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and China’s Zheng Qinwen.

In doubles action, Ottawa’s Gabriela and Brazil’s Luisa Stefani -- the fifth seeds -- earned a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Czech Maria Bouzkova and Russian Liudmila Samsonova. But Montreal’s Leylah Fernandez and France’s Kristina Mladenovic dropped a 6-2, 4-6, 10-4 decision to the fourth-seeded tandem of Anna Danilina of Kazakhstan and Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2026.