Doha, Qatar: Former Grand Slam finalists Karolina Muchova and Karolína Pliskova made a strong start at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open on opening day at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex. Muchova, the 14th seed, defeated Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian 6-2, 6-3, while 2017 Doha champion Pliskova dominated lucky loser Solana Sierra 6-1, 6-2.

Canadian teen Victoria Mboko, seeded 10th, impressed with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Marie Bouzkova on her Doha debut. Mboko will next face Vera Zvonareva, who won her first tour-level singles main draw match since October 2023. Mboko emphasized her focus on steady progress, saying, “I just think of every match as any other match and want to bring my A game every time.”

The first round also saw several early surprises. Lucky loser Magdalena Frech edged past 13th seed Liudmila Samsonova in a three-set thriller, while Alycia Parks upset 15th seed Diana Shnaider in another three-set contest. Qualifiers Varvara Gracheva and Elisabetta Cocciaretto also advanced, highlighting the unpredictability of the opening day.

Today’s Matches: Fans can look forward to former world No. 3 Maria Sakkari taking on Turkish wild card Zeynep Sonmez, and defending champion Amanda Anisimova facing fifth seed Mirra Andreeva in the round of 32. Anisimova said returning to Doha brings back special memories from her title win last year, and she hopes for another strong performance.