On Wednesday, February 11, the Round of 16 matches of the women’s singles event in the ongoing Qatar Open 2026 saw standout performances from two top seeds, Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina. The five-time Grand Slam winner and Australian Open reigning champion has acquired their quarterfinal spot, which will be played on Thursday. In addition to that, Canada’s Victoria Mboko also joins Swiatek and Rybakina in the quarterfinals.
In the first match of the R16, Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina defeated China’s Zheng Qinwen by sets of 4-6, 6-2, 7-5. This was Rybakina’s third win over Zheng out of the four meetings they have had. Meanwhile, Zheng suffered a loss in her 2026 tournament opener. The 2024 Australian Open runner-up underwent elbow surgery last year in July and has played only two events only including the Doha Open.
Zheng was impressive in the opening set, securing four points on serve, and added more points to take the lead by 6-4, while Rybakina struggled on her part. Despite the drop, she raised herself to win the second set by 6-2 and then continued her brilliance in the third. A late charge on serve, Zheng could not regain her strike over the Kazakhstani, who got the lead by 5-2 in the third set after missing on a match point.
With the win, Rybakina, continuing her impressive run since the Australian Open 2026 title victory, will face Canada’s Mboko in the quarter-finals. The 19-year-old Canadian secured her win over fifth seed Mirra Andreeva by sets of 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/5) in the R16 round.
In another R16 match, top seed Swiatek defeated Australia’s Daria Kasatkina by 5-7, 6-1, 6-1, securing her place in the quarter-finals against Greece’s Maria Sakkari. The Poland tennis star is enrolled in her fourth WTA 1000 trophy in Doha, having previously won in the 2022, 2023 and 2024 editions. Swiatek has won six of her previous matches against Kasatkina.
Swiatek was defeated by Rybakina in the Australian Open 2026 quarter-final match held in Melbourne in January. She is, however, to face her in the finals match and make a strong comeback against her.
2025 Qatar Open runner-up Jelena Ostapenko defeated Colombia’s Camila Osorio by sets of 6-3, 6-1 to secure her berth in the quarter-finals, where she will face Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
Meanwhile, Czech Karolina Muchova defeated former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova, who retired injured after losing the first set by 5-2. Muchova will next face Anna Kalinskaya, who defeated Australian Open semi-finalist Elina Svitolina by 6-4, 6-3.
