DOHA DISASTER: IGA SWIATEK AND ELENA RYBAKINA BOTH CRASH OUT IN QUARTER-FINAL SHOCKERS
Massive upsets in Doha! Maria Sakkari stuns Iga Swiatek while teen Victoria Mboko takes down Rybakina. Read the full analysis.
World number two Iga Swiatek and Australian Open champ Elena Rybakina both made early exits from the Qatar Open on February 12, falling in the quarter-finals to Maria Sakkari and Victoria Mboko.
Swiatek, the top seed and defending champ, started strong; she broke Sakkari twice in the first set and looked on track for another easy win. But Sakkari, who’s had a tough stretch lately, dug in. She fought back, grabbing a tense 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 win. Afterward, Sakkari admitted, “It’s been a while since I had a big win like today.” She used to be ranked as high as No. 3 in the world back in 2022 but has slipped all the way down to 52. “When you drop in the rankings and you’re not playing good tennis, you start doubting yourself. You think you’re never going to beat those players again,” she said. “So it’s a huge process you have to go through in your head that you can do it.”
Sakkari, 30, had beaten Swiatek three times earlier in their careers, but not since 2021. Swiatek had won their last four matches, including a straight-sets victory in Qatar last year. “Last year, in the second round here against her, I was not confident; I was not believing in myself, and this year it’s different. I feel a lot better,” Sakkari said. She’ll now play either Karolina Muchova or Anna Kalinskaya in the semi-finals. “I’ve missed that feeling of going deep into tournaments.”
Swiatek, who dominated this event in 2022, 2023, and 2024, looked ready to do it again. But after dropping the first set, Sakkari found something extra. She broke early in the second set, and even though Swiatek kept responding, Sakkari steadied herself, broke again, and took the set. For the first time in their seven matches, they went to a deciding set. It was back-and-forth—Swiatek saved a match point, but Sakkari served out the win, finally sealing it on her third chance. The match lasted just under two and a half hours.
Right after that, Victoria Mboko kept her hot streak going. She beat Rybakina 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 in a match that was only six minutes shorter than the Sakkari-Swiatek battle. Mboko had already beaten Rybakina once this year, in the Montreal semi-finals, and she came out swinging again, breaking Rybakina’s serve three times in the first set. She dropped her own serve twice but still took the set. Rybakina bounced back to grab the second, but the 19-year-old Canadian had the edge in the third and closed it out 6-4.
Mboko, who lost to world number one Aryna Sabalenka in Melbourne a few weeks ago, now faces Jelena Ostapenko in the Doha semis. Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champ and last year’s runner-up, made it through by beating Elisabetta Cocciaretto 7-5, 6-4.
WHY DID 22 PLAYERS SUDDENLY WITHDRAW FROM THE 2026 ITALIAN OPEN MID-TOURNAMENT?
Discover the full list of injured stars, including Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu, forced out of the 2026 Italian Open.
At the 2026 Italian Open, the number of players who have withdrawn or retired during matches has climbed to 22, spanning both the ATP and WTA competitions.
By midweek, 17 players had already exited the combined ATP/WTA 1000 event in Rome. Since then, an additional three men and two women have followed suit.
Before the draws were even announced on Monday, prominent names like Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, Jack Draper, and Marketa Vondrousova had pulled out. On the opening day of the women’s tournament, Tuesday, Marta Kostyuk and Emma Raducanu also withdrew.
Amanda Anisimova, ranked sixth in the WTA, stepped back before her first match on Thursday due to a left wrist injury. Meanwhile, Victoria Mboko, who is ninth in the world, withdrew before playing on Friday because of a gastrointestinal illness.
Valentin Vacherot, the 16th-ranked player on the ATP tour, pulled out shortly before his scheduled second-round match against Marin Cilic on Friday, citing a foot injury.
Tomas Machac, holding the 41st spot in the men's rankings, also withdrew ahead of his second-round encounter with Daniil Medvedev after an impactful win against Stefanos Tsitsipas in round one.
Arthur Fils, ranked 17th, retired during his opening match against Andrea Pellegrino on Saturday, trailing 0-4, due to hip pain.
Here’s a rundown of the withdrawals on the ATP side: Carlos Alcaraz (No. 2) was replaced by Sebastian Ofner; Taylor Fritz (No. 7) by Zachary Svajda; Valentin Vacherot (No. 16) by Martin Landaluce; Arthur Rinderknech (No. 24) by Aleksandar Kovacevic; Holger Rune (No. 40) by Damir Dzumhur; Gabriel Diallo (No. 46) by Alexander Blockx; Jack Draper (No. 50) by Hamad Medjedovic; Raphael Collignon (No. 68) by Alexandre Muller; Reilly Opelka (No. 74) by Aleksandar Vukic; Arthur Cazaux (No. 73) by Mattia Bellucci; Kamil Majchrzak (No. 76) by Roberto Bautista Agut; and Eliot Spizzirri (No. 92) by James Duckworth.
On the WTA side, Amanda Anisimova (No. 6) was replaced by Elena Gabriela Ruse from Romania; Victoria Mboko (No. 9) by Nikola Bartunkova; Marta Kostyuk (No. 15) by Ajla Tomljanovic; Emma Raducanu (No. 30) by Lilli Tagger; Marketa Vondrousova (No. 44) by Solana Sierra; Sonay Kartal (No. 56) by Zeynep Sonmez; Varvara Gracheva (No. 61) by Eva Lys; and Veronika Kudermetova (No. 70) by Petra Marcinko.
THE "REST OVER REPS" PLAN: WHY JANNIK SINNER IS SNUBBING HALLE FOR WIMBLEDON
After 23 consecutive wins, World No. 1 Jannik Sinner adjusts his schedule to target a Career Grand Slam and Wimbledon glory.
Jannik Sinner has already logged a heavy schedule this year, with deep runs in recent Masters 1000 tournaments keeping him on court against top-tier competition regularly. Given this demanding stretch, he’s taken a fresh look at his calendar and decided to skip the Halle Open, carving out a three-week break between Roland Garros and his Wimbledon title defence.
The 2024 Wimbledon champion won’t be heading to Germany for the grass-court event. That’s notable since Sinner claimed that Wimbledon crown in impressive fashion, overcoming two-time winner Carlos Alcaraz to secure his first major title away from hardcourts. That victory was his latest Grand Slam, following Alcaraz’s wins at the previous two majors.
After Roland Garros, where he seeks to complete the career Grand Slam, Sinner plans to recharge rather than pile on more tournaments before Wimbledon. Without Alcaraz in sight, he’s considered a favourite to maintain his remarkable run. His recent haul includes titles at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, and, most recently, Madrid. Now, he’s setting his sights on Rome, his home turf, where he’s never clinched a win but is eager to continue an ambitious streak of Masters 1000 victories, aiming for a sixth in a row.
Post-Rome, he’ll take a week off before the French Open begins. In total, Sinner has played 23 matches over the last two months without tasting defeat. If he wants to lift the Rome trophy, he’ll need to notch six more wins, then potentially battle through seven more rounds in Paris. This demanding schedule partly explains his choice to forgo Halle.
As for the 2026 Halle Open, fans might be disappointed not to see the world number one, but the field remains strong. Heading the draw is Alexander Zverev, a local favourite who has yet to claim a grass-court title or even one on home soil. With Sinner out, this could be a prime opportunity for Zverev to break through.
The American players are also well represented. The U.S. hasn’t seen a finalist here since Mardy Fish in 2004, but Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton might be poised to change that, especially Fritz, who has already shown grass prowess with titles in Stuttgart and Eastbourne last year.
Defending champion Alexander Bublik, who ousted Sinner on his way to victory and took down Daniil Medvedev in the final, will be back aiming to repeat. Alongside him, names like Andrey Rublev, Flavio Cobolli, and Frances Tiafoe are also set to compete. The tournament runs from June 15 to 21, promising plenty of exciting tennis.
