"I understand why I would be the favourite now most of the time" - Mboko reflects on her status as she shifts pressure away after Qatar Open final defeat

Victoria Mboko has enjoyed a meteoric rise into the upper echelons of tennis. Now widely recognised as one of the best tennis players on the WTA Tour, she is very aware of her now highly regarded status as she tries to keep that in check.

The 19-year-old suffered disappointment in the final of the Qatar Open. She had entered the event for the first time and had looked brilliant going through the rounds. Notable wins over Mirra Andreeva and Elena Rybakina caught the eye, with a commanding straight sets triumph against last year's finalist Jelena Ostapenko was enough to put her name in the final of a second WTA 1000 event.

Unlike the Canadian Open, her name would not be written in the stars. The fate would be passed onto Karolina Muchova who finally got her hands of a WTA 1000 title in her third final. It was surprisingly only her second WTA title, matching Mboko's tally, and her first since all the way back in 2019.

It was a hugely successful day out for both players, but many will continue to touch upon Mboko and her brilliance. Now in the top 10, she will be looking to continue this fine form with the sky the limit for the very talented teenager.

In her press conference after the match, she was asked how was the mindset change from being an underdog to now a favourite on court against lower ranked players. This time last year Mboko was still playing on the ITF Tour with just a handful of WTA events competed in with little success. Still without a Grand Slam participation, she was ranked outside the top 300.

A year later, she has two WTA titles to her name from four finals, with her defeat in the Adelaide International final at the start of this year her first loss in a final. She has four top 10 wins, half of them coming in Doha, and is widely regarded as one of the favourites going into any tournament she is competing in, something that she is trying to block out.

"Yeah, I understand why I would be the favourite now most of the time," she admitted. "But there's still so many talented girls out there, and it's tennis, anything can happen. If I was the underdog and being able to play many top players and having a chance to win, I mean, many other people have that opportunity too. I'm not putting much pressure on myself, I just want to go out there and play."

Mboko will now firmly turn her attention to a quick turn around to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. There she will fist come up against Jaqueline Cristian as she is set to debut in UAE. If she comes out on top in that then the second round awaits for her, with one of Ella Seidel or Cristina Bucsa next on the list. A possible third round tie against the defending champion Andreeva is very much on the cards, with the pair of them the only two teenagers in the top 10 after Mboko finally gives Andreeva some company high up in the rankings.

With very little to defend until the Canadian Open, Mboko is looking to continue her rapid rise and climb deeper into the top 10 in the world as she hunts for more big titles in the early days of what is looking set to be a very promising career.