WTA/ATP: A long time coming

The supremely talented Czech has been hampered by injuries over the past several years, but had this remarkably ability of returning from physical setbacks playing some incredible tennis.

It’s how she reached the Roland-Garros final in 2023, along with three other Grand Slam semi-finals at the Australian Open and US Open.

But despite her craftiness and intelligent game, Muchova had won just one career title prior to last Saturday – a WTA 250 in Seoul back in 2019.

She fell to Swiatek in the Roland-Garros title decider and played and lost two WTA 1000 finals in Cincinnati 2023 and Beijing 2024.

The drought finally came to an end in spectacular fashion as the 29-year-old Muchova clinched the biggest title of her career with a 6-4, 7-5 triumph over Mboko at the WTA 1000 in Doha.

“I would say I nearly forgot the winning feeling, because it's been really quite a while. To get reminded of it – actually, I was pretty nervous before the match. I'm like, ‘Okay, how am I going to deal with it, how am I going to manage it?’

“And then when you actually make it, and I dealt with that pressure I think very good in today's match, I was just relieved. And the intensity of the feeling of winning, it's just so nice. Yeah, I'm just trying to enjoy it, because in tennis everything goes so fast.”

Muchova put on a serving masterclass in the opening set, landing an impressive 75 per cent of her first serves in, and dropping just three of the points behind that first delivery.

She had a blip in the second set when Mboko made some necessary adjustments to break the Muchova serve but the Canadian teen’s comeback attempt was short-lived as her opponent marched towards victory.

Muchova’s form all week was a welcome reminder of her all-court prowess.

She dropped just one set en route to the title and has moved up from 19 to 11 in the world ranked as a result of her triumph.

After receiving the trophy from FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Nasser Al Khelaifi, the president of Paris Saint-Germain football club and the Qatar Tennis Federation, Muchova told reporters why the overwhelming feeling she had at that moment was relief.

“I would say relief, but as well I would say I was very proud of myself. I don't hold the best records in the finals. Last time I played I really thought I played good that week, and then I lost pretty easily,” she said, referring to her straight-sets loss to Coco Gauff in the Beijing final 18 months ago.

“So then you question yourself a little bit. Like, Can I do it? Because obviously I hear it all around. Everyone's like saying I only have one title. And it's not that I would take it personally, or that it would describe my tennis or me as a person, but I really wanted to prove that to myself that I still have it in me and that I can win. So I would say I was just very proud how I handled myself today.”

A top-10 debut secured

Mboko has plenty to be proud of as well.

The 19-year-old started 2025 ranked 333 in the world and has now cracked the top 10 for the first time in her young career.

The Canadian claimed two top-10 victories in Doha, over freshly-crowned Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina and Mirra Andreeva, and eased past former major winner Jelena Ostapenko before losing to Muchova in the final.

“Looking back at everything, it was a positive week,” said Mboko, who is the WTA match-wins leader for the season so far, with 13 victories against just four losses.

“Karolina played really great tennis, so I have to give props to her. Yeah, I think it's still the beginning of the year, there's still the rest of the season. I think right now it's just important to improve and move forward and work on things that need to be worked on.”

Third time’s a charm for De Minaur

After falling in the Rotterdam final in the last two years, Alex de Minaur finally got his hands on the champion’s trophy with a brilliant 6-3, 6-2 performance against Felix Auger-Aliassime on Sunday.

De Minaur, who turns 27 on Tuesday, entered the clash with a 0-4 record in indoor finals and was facing an indoor specialist in the form of Auger-Aliassime, who leads all players in indoor wins this decade (93), owns eight indoor trophies, and was on an eight-match winning streak after lifting Montpellier title the previous week.

“Third time lucky... I’m super stoked, super happy. It ended up being a great week here in Rotterdam,” said De Minaur, who now owns four ATP 500 titles. “It’s a place where I always feel really good. I was just a step short in the previous years, so it feels great to finally be able to lift the title.”

Shelton wins a thriller, Cerundolo tastes home success

Over in Dallas, Ben Shelton saved three championship points to come out on top 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in an all-American final against Taylor Fritz on Sunday.

“It feels amazing. I thank God, because I needed something super natural to end up winning this tournament with all the holes that I was in,” said Shelton, who came through a quartet of three-setters in Dallas.

“I feel grateful to play five matches out here with these crowds. The energy was amazing.

“I had to fight until the last minute. Fritz was playing very good tennis and I was struggling a lot with what he was throwing at me. I tried to be a competitor through and through, and I ended up coming out on top.”

In Buenos Aires, Francisco Cerundolo was also third time lucky as he triumphed on home soil, defeating Luciano Darderi 6-4, 6-2 in what he described was “the best moment of my career”.

Cerundolo lost in the final in the Argentinian capital in 2021 and 2025 and was thrilled to turn things around on Sunday as he lifted his fourth career title and first on home ground.

“I really wanted to win here in my hometown, in my country, with my friends and family and all the people here in Argentina. This feeling is amazing. I really fought throughout these past years and tried to win. I couldn’t do it, and today I played one of the best matches probably of my career,” said the 27-year-old.