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/
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🎾 Thanks for listening—and let the serves begin!
Produced with assistance from Radio CKUT
CKUT Radio: https://ckut.ca/
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