The best moments from Doha Day 1: Parks' comeback, Frech's heroics and more

DOHA, Qatar -- The 2026 Qatar TotalEnergies Open main draw officially got underway Sunday with the opening slate of singles first-round matches. 

Victoria Mboko and Karolina Muchova were among notable names -- and winners -- in action on Day 1 which saw multiple three-set classics and a few lucky losers taking advantage of the opportunity. It's the first 1000 on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz.

Here are the best moments from Day 1 of the main draw in Doha:

Parks completes comeback vs. Shnaider

Parks had a first set that she likely wanted to forget in her first round match vs. Diana Shnaider, winning just one game. But Parks quickly put that behind her, pulling off a 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) thrilling victory to upset the No. 15 seed -- the third set lasted 72 minutes. Parks went through qualifiers to reach the first round, defeating Rebeka Masarova and Solana Sierra.

The win in some ways felt similar to the American's triumph over Alexandra Eala in the Australian Open first round. After a first-set bagel, Parks remained calm and collected in a rowdy crowd in the 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 win just a few weeks ago. Interestingly, it was Parks beat Shnaider in the Doha first round for the second-straight year.

Zvonareva earns first tour-level singles main draw win since 2023

Vera Zvonareva has had a sneaky comeback into tennis after undergoing surgery in 2024 that had kept her out of play from June 2024 to December 2025. In her return tournament, she reached the singles final at the ITF 100 event in Dubai. She also reached the doubles final at that same tournament in addition to a WTA 125 in Canberra and the Australian Open this past January.

On Sunday, Zvonareva won her first tour-level singles main draw match since the Jiangxi Open in October 2023, defeating Peyton Stearns 2-6, 6-2, 6-3. She's now into the second round in Doha as Mboko awaits.

Mboko's all-around hot shot

Mboko began her Doha debut with a straight-sets 7-5, 6-2 win over Marie Bouzkova. She took advantage of her opponent's second serve, winning 20-of-26 (77%) of points, and the No. 10 seed will face Vera Zvonareva in the second round.

The highlight of the day came from this all-around hot shot. From the forehand that Bouzkova impressively kept in play to the drop shot at the net, Mboko showed all the skills in this hot shot from her win. 

Frech survives three match points to reach second round

In a near three-hour match, Magdalena Frech advanced to the second round with a 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7) win over No. 13 seed Liudmila Samsonova. Incredibly, she saved three match points to pull off the upset. She was one a few lucky losers that earned a spot in the main draw after falling to Zvonareva in the second round of qualifying.

Frech now advances to face Ann Li, who defeated Leylah Fernandez in a routine 6-4, 6-3 win. 

Mertens, Cocciaretto among other Day 1 winners

Just like Elena Rybakina, Elise Mertens enters Doha off an Australian Open title, in doubles. In singles Sunday however, she began her Doha campaign with a quick 68-minute victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. 

Similar to Frech, Elisabetta Cocciaretto also was a successful lucky loser with a 7-6 (4), 6-2 win over Elsa Jacquemot, taking advantage of four break points. She'll face Coco Gauff in the second round.

Other Day 1 results:

Karolina Muchova d. Jaqueline Cristian 6-2, 6-3
Daria Kasatkina d. Moyuka Uchijima 4-6, 6-3, 6-0
Karolina Pliskova d. Solana Sierra 6-1, 6-2
Magda Linette d. Sonay Kartal 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
Varvara Gracheva d. Laura Siegemund 7-6 (3), 6-4