Not Iga Swiatek. Not Elena Rybakina. Not Amanda Anisimova or Coco Gauff. Russia\u2019s Mirra Andreeva and Ekaterina Alexandrova were also knocked out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a tournament defined by chaos and upsets, Jasmine Paolini could not escape either. Of the eight top seeds in the draw, not one reached the semifinals.<\/p>\n
The first major shock in the quarterfinals saw reigning Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina bow out. Just hours after Swiatek was stunned by Greece\u2019s Maria Sakkari, the two-time Grand Slam winner absorbed her first defeat in nine matches and only her second in her last sixteen contests.\u00a0That run included finishing 2025 as champion of the WTA Finals in Riyadh.<\/p>\n
Rybakina was outplayed by one of the fastest-rising talents on tour. Nineteen-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko, currently ranked No. 13 in the world, continued her rapid ascent after a runner-up finish in Adelaide and a Round of 16 appearance at the Australian Open.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Earlier in the week, she survived a match point against Andreeva. In Doha, Mboko delivered another statement victory, defeating Rybakina 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 in two hours and 23 minutes.<\/p>\n
The result guarantees a new champion at the Qatar Open, succeeding last year\u2019s winner Anisimova. Mboko will now face last year\u2019s finalist, Latvia\u2019s Jelena Ostapenko, in the semifinals after Ostapenko advanced with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Italy\u2019s Elisabetta Cocciaretto.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Sakkari, who rallied past three-time Doha champion Swiatek 2-6, 6-4, 7-5, awaited her semifinal opponent, to emerge from the final quarterfinal between the Czech Republic\u2019s Karolina Muchova and Russia\u2019s Anna Kalinskaya.<\/p>\n
Rybakina, so dominant in Melbourne, lacked that same authority in Doha. She dropped the opening set after surrendering a 4-0 run despite serving at 5-3.\u00a0<\/p>\n