Former World No. 3 Maria Sakkari will face the 14th-seeded Karolina Muchová in the semifinal of the 2026 Qatar Open. This will be Muchová’s second semifinal of the season, having reached the final four at the Brisbane International. On the other hand, Sakkari will be playing her first semifinal since 2024, when she reached the semifinals in Charleston.
Maria Sakkari vs Karolina Muchová Match Details
Date: Feb. 13, 2026
Tournament: Qatar Open 2026
Round: Semifinal
Venue: Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, Doha, Qatar
Surface: Outdoor hard
Category: WTA 1000
Live Telecast: Tennis Channel, TSN, RDS, Sky Sports
Sakkari vs Muchová Head-to-Head
After five meetings, Muchová has a 4-1 lead in the head-to-head against Sakkari. The two of them played each other last at the 2023 Cincinnati Open, where the Czech player won 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.
Sakkari had an impressive outing at the United Cup to begin her season, where she beat Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu. After early losses in Adelaide and at the Australian Open, she started her Qatar Open campaign with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Zeynep Sönmez, followed by a big upset, winning 6-4, 6-2 against the sixth-seeded Jasmine Paolini in the second round.
In the third round, Sakkari won 7-6 (3), 6-0 against French qualifier Varvara Gracheva, after which she scored another massive upset, winning 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 against top seed and former Qatar Open champion, Iga Świątek.
Muchová had a good outing at the Brisbane International, reaching the semifinal, where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka. At the Qatar Open, she started with a 6-2, 6-3 win against Jaqueline Cristian in the first round, followed by a 6-1, 6-4 win against compatriot Tereza Valentová in the second round. She got a win via retirement against Karolina Plíšková in the third round, after which she won 6-3, 6-4 against Anna Kalinskaya in the quarterfinals.
Sakkari vs Muchová Prediction
Sakkari has won 66% and 50% of her first and second serve points at the Qatar Open. She saved 18 of the 27 break points she faced on her serve in four matches, and won 19 of the 34 break point opportunities in the return games. Against Świątek, she showed great composure in the final set after letting a 5-2 lead slip away, but eventually won it 7-5.
On the other hand, Muchová has won 75% and 61% of her first and second serve points in Doha so far. She has saved 13 of the 17 break points in four matches and has been effective in converting break-point situations, winning 15 of those 30 points.
MORE: Maria Sakkari Can’t Hide How She Truly Feels After Upsetting Iga Świątek in Doha
Muchová has better serving numbers compared to Sakkari, but the two match up well in terms of speed and movement on court. The match will be decided by who returns better and does well in the longer rallies. Sakkari has been showing signs of her old form this year, and a win over the top seed in the previous round will boost her confidence to a large extent.
However, given the current head-to-head, the Czech player starts as the slight favorite to win the match.
Pick– Muchová to win in three sets
