WTA Race Update: Mboko climbs to third, Rybakina remains untouchable as Gauff falls out of top-10

Ending the first WTA 1000 of the season at the Qatar Open, the 2026 WTA Race was updated with several interesting movements – although Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka still hold a wide advantage over their pursuers. The Australian Open champion reaches 2,443 points despite her quarterfinal exit in Doha, while Sabalenka was affected by her absence in the Middle East, and sees Rybakina continuing to pull away in the Race.

The big winners of the week were Karolina Muchova and Victoria Mboko, protagonists of the final in Qatar. The Czech won in three sets to claim her first WTA 1000 title and only her second career title, which allows her to position herself at No. 4 in the Race.

She finished just a few points from the podium, with Mboko in third place after reaching her second final of the season – in addition to a good campaign up to the fourth round in Melbourne. Although both later decided to withdraw from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, they hold a comfortable position and will hardly leave the top-5 even while out of competition this week.

And the Qatar Open generated several important movements in the upper zone, after a week marked by surprises. By the quarterfinals, only three of the top-10 seeds remained – with the main favorites Iga Swiatek and Rybakina eliminated in that round – while the majority of the top-10 were eliminated in the first two rounds.

Several of the names previously established in the top-10 remain in the upper zone. Elina Svitolina takes the No. 5 position, mainly thanks to her campaign to the semifinals of the Australian Open and her title at the ASB Classic at the start of the year. Being one of the best at the start of the season, the Ukrainian did not suffer too much in points due to her third-round elimination in Qatar, and from early in the year she appears as a candidate to return to the WTA Finals – this time in Riyadh – a tournament she participated in three times (2017-2019), winning in 2018.

Jessica Pegula, also a semifinalist in Melbourne, chose not to compete this week in Doha, skipping the tournament, but the irregular results of the top-names worked in Pegula’s favor, keeping her in 6th spot of the Race. Similarly, teenager Iva Jovic, another player who skipped Doha, remains momentarily in 8th spot and would temporarily be one of the qualifiers for the WTA Finals.

Hypothetically, another teenager could join. Mirra Andreeva, champion in Adelaide defeating Mboko. This time her path ended quickly in Qatar when facing the Canadian again, and this time Mboko took revenge, reaching the 5th seed early in the tournament. The Russian nevertheless continues in the top-8, in a year when she hopes to achieve her long-awaited debut in the WTA Finals – from which she was narrowly excluded in 2025.

Several top-names fell following the irregular results in Dubai. Swiatek – who was the first seed – was eliminated in the quarterfinals and dropped to No. 9 in the Race. Her absence this week in Dubai could complicate things for the Pole, who could easily leave the top-10 of the Race in the coming days considering she will not compete until Indian Wells.

Closing the top-10 is the Swiss Belinda Bencic, who had to withdraw from Qatar due to injury, and she is closely followed by Coco Gauff (No. 11), who was surprised last week by a first-round loss to lucky loser Elisabetta Cocciaretto – later a quarterfinalist in the tournament.

Several names made important ascents this week. Previously, Cocciaretto – who won the Hobart Open title at the start of the season – is one of the names drawing the most attention in the upper zone of the Race, considering her best historical ranking is barely within the top-40. The Italian has been consistent at the start of the year and will be a force to consider in the coming weeks.

Also joining is 20-year-old Czech Sara Bejlek, champion of the WTA 500 Abu Dhabi Open two weeks ago, who positions herself at No. 12. Within the top-20 are names like Amanda Anisimova (No. 13), Elise Mertens (No. 15), Anna Kalinskaya (No. 18), and Maria Sakkari (No. 20) – recent semifinalists in Doha.