Featured matches, Friday 13th February
Women's singles semi-finals
Jelena Ostapenko vs Victoria Mboko (10) | Centre Court, 16:00 CET
Maria Sakkari vs Karolina Muchova (14) | Centre Court, 17:30 CET
Ostapenko vs Mboko - 16:00 CET
Match News and Form
Jelena Ostapenko reaches her fourth career semi-final in Doha (2-1) after breaking her shackles. She has won eight sets in a row after losing the first set of the first round, starting with a comeback win over Anastasia Zakharova and beating Ekaterina Alexandrova, Camila Osorio, and Elisabetta Cocciaretto in straight sets.
Ostapenko was in the deep end of her troubles in the run-up to Doha. Not only had she won just four matches since Wimbledon, the former world No. 5 had not won multiple matches in any tournament since Roland-Garros and had not appeared in the quarter-finals of any tournament since winning Stuttgart ten months ago.
Victoria Mboko keeps getting better and better on tour with every passing week. She now stunned the new Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, in the quarter-finals after rallying from a break down in the first and third sets, thereby ending her opponent's impressive nine-match winning streak.
The 19-year-old, who had not won a tour-level main draw match until March 2025, is set to play her fourth career semi-final and the second at the WTA 1000 level. After starting 2026 with a final in Adelaide and a fourth round in Melbourne, she keeps up her ways with two top-10 wins this week alone (d. Mirra Andreeva).
Head-to-Head
This will be their first meeting:
Stats & Facts
Mboko is the highest-seeded player left in the competition but the least experienced one of all four, notwithstanding her 3-0 record in WTA semi-finals so far.
The Canadian has been the champion in Montreal and Hong Kong, and the runner-up in Adelaide since July, and currently seeks her second championship round appearance at the WTA 1000 level.
Ostapenko generally has a decent record in semi-finals, going 12-4 in the last seven years and 5-0 in the last five such affairs.
The Latvian has been to three WTA 1000 finals over her career (out of 18 career finals), with two of those instances coming in Doha alone (2016, 2025).
Betting Analysis
Mboko’s recent top 10 victories justify her favourite status, but the physical toll of consecutive long matches and recent arm issues cannot be ignored. Ostapenko, armed with her aggressive shot-making and less court time, is well-positioned to exploit that situation. Considering the circumstances, Ostapenko presents the better value and a strong chance to pull off the upset.
Ostapenko in 2026
Best results: Doha (semi-finals)
Best results on outdoor hard courts: Doha (semi-finals)
Record: 6-4
Record in the last 10 matches: 6-4
Record on outdoor hard courts: 6-4
Record against top 20: 1-0 (career 45-56)
Record in WTA 1000 semi-finals: 0-0 (career 3-5)
Record in semi-finals: 0-0 (career 18-10)
Grand Slams: Australian Open (round of 64)
Ostapenko at the Qatar Open
Career record: 24-9
Best result: final (2016, 2025)
Last year's result: final
Record in semi-finals: 2-0
Preparation: Abu Dhabi (round of 16)
Road to the semi-finals: Zakharova (6-7, 6-3, 6-4), (8) Alexandrova (6-4, 6-2), Osorio (6-3, 6-1), Cocciaretto (7-5, 6-4)
Mboko in 2026
Best results: Adelaide (final)
Best results on outdoor hard courts: Adelaide (final)
Record: 12-3
Record in the last 10 matches: 8-2
Record on outdoor hard courts: 12-3
Record against top 30: 4-3 (career 9-10)
Record in WTA 1000 semi-finals: 0-0 (career 1-0)
Record in semi-finals: 1-0 (career 3-0)
Grand Slams: Australian Open (round of 16)
Mboko at the Qatar Open
Career record: 4-0
Best result: semi-finals (2026)
Last year's result: did not play
Record in semi-finals: 0-0
Preparation: none
Road to the semi-finals: Bouzkova (7-5, 6-2), Zvonareva (6-4, 6-4), (5) M. Andreeva (6-3, 3-6, 7-6), (2) Rybakina (7-5, 4-6, 6-4)
Sakkari vs Muchova - 17:30 CET
Match News and Form
Maria Sakkari pulled off arguably the biggest upset of the tournament after defeating world No. 2 and reigning Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5, in the quarter-finals. She allowed the Pole to get back into the game after wasting a 5-2 third-set lead, but finally scored her second top 10 win of the week.
Sakkari was the shadow of her former self in the run-up to Doha, having reached just one quarter-final in the last twelve months and even falling as low as No. 92 in May of last year. She had not gone past the second round of any event since the US Open, but it didn’t stop her from winning the first three rounds in straight sets (including beating world No. 8 Jasmine Paolini).
Karolina Muchova did more waiting than playing on quarter-final day and burned the midnight oil to defeat Anna Kalinskaya, 6-3, 6-4. She was already playing solid tennis prior to this week, but would still be overjoyed to have won all four rounds without losing a set, albeit receiving a retirement from Karolina Pliskova.
Coming off a semi-final in Brisbane and a fourth round at the Australian Open, Muchova has pulled off a perfect week in Doha to earn her biggest semi-final appearance since last year's Middle East swing, when she settled with a final-four finish in Dubai. This result would also help the 2025 US Open quarter-finalist to consolidate her place in the top 20.
Head-to-Head
Muchova leads 4-0 at the tour level, although the pair have not met since their Roland-Garros and Cincinnati clashes in 2023. Each of those four meetings either involved a tiebreak or a deciding set or both.
Stats & Facts
Sakkari already had the privilege to play the Doha semi-finals twice in the past, in 2022 and 2023, but lost to Swiatek and Jessica Pegula, respectively, and never got to enter the final.
The Greek is about to play her first semi-final in nearly two years and, in general, holds a 3-8 record in her last eleven. Her last four finals, stretching back to Guadalajara in October 2022, have all come in North America.
Muchova has confirmed a new best tournament result in Doha, setting aside her 2019 quarter-final finish when she played as a qualifier yet to debut in the top 100.
The Czech is on a four-match losing streak in semi-finals and currently seeks her seventh career final and the first since the WTA 1000 event in Beijing in late 2024.
Betting Analysis
Sakkari has exceeded expectations in Doha with wins over Paolini and Swiatek, boosting her belief and confidence. Still, Muchova’s greater consistency and control in this matchup give her the edge to extend her winning streak over Sakkari.
Sakkari in 2026
Best results: Doha (semi-finals)
Best results on outdoor hard courts: Doha (semi-finals)
Record: 7-3
Record in the last 10 matches: 7-3
Record on outdoor hard courts: 7-3
Record against top 20: 3-2 (career 56-82)
Record in WTA 1000 semi-finals: 0-0 (career 4-6)
Record in semi-finals: 0-0 (career 10-24)
Grand Slams: Australian Open (round of 64)
Sakkari at the Qatar Open
Career record: 15-7
Best result: semi-finals (2022-23, 2026)
Last year's result: round of 32
Record in semi-finals: 0-2
Preparation: none
Road to the semi-finals: Sonmez (6-1, 6-3), (6) Paolini (6-4, 6-2), Gracheva (7-6, 6-0), (1) Swiatek (2-6, 6-4, 7-5)
Muchova in 2026
Best results: Brisbane (semi-finals)
Best results on outdoor hard courts: Brisbane (semi-finals)
Record: 10-2
Record in the last 10 matches: 8-2
Record on outdoor hard courts: 10-2
Record against top 50-100: 3-0 (career 51-18)
Record in WTA 1000 semi-finals: 0-0 (career 2-1)
Record in semi-finals: 0-1 (career 6-9)
Grand Slams: Australian Open (round of 16)
Muchova at the Qatar Open
Career record: 8-3
Best result: semi-finals (2026)
Last year's result: did not play
Record in semi-finals: 0-0
Preparation: none
Road to the semi-finals: Cristian (6-2, 6-3), Valentova (6-1, 6-4), Pliskova (5-2 ret.), Kalinskaya (6-3, 6-4)
