Mboko and Muchova Magic - Doha Open + ATP Rotterdam

Welcome to The Service Game , where serves start the story. In this week’s First Serve, the tour arrives in the Middle East with momentum building across both tours: Karolína Muchova ends a six-year title drought with a long-awaited triumph, Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko surges into her second WTA 1000 final at just 19, and Félix Auger-Aliassime continues his strong run with back-to-back ATP finals. From breakthrough performances to renewed confidence, the Middle East swing is already shaping the season’s early narrative — listen for the full breakdown and what it all means moving forward. Matches/Links mentioned: Qinwen Zheng vs. Elena Rybakina: Mirra Andreeva vs. Victoria Mboko: Victoria Mboko vs. Elena Rybakina: Jelena Ostapenko vs. Victoria Mboko: Iga Swiatek vs. Maria Sakkari: Karolina Muchova vs. Maria Sakkari: Karolina Muchova vs. Victoria Mboko: ATP Rotterdam Semifinals: Ben Shelton vs. Denis Shapovalov: Athletics Article: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7044598/2026/02/13/aryna-sabalenka-iga-swiatek-dubai-tennis-championships-withdraw-out/ Subscribe to ⁠ The Service Game ⁠ on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. For extended analysis and written Second Serve content, check out Ivy’s ⁠Substack⁠ . 🎾 Thanks for listening—and let the serves begin! Produced with assistance from Radio CKUT CKUT Radio: https://ckut.ca/ Thanks for reading The Service Game! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theservicegame.substack.com