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Karolina Muchova clinched her first title since 2019 as she overcame Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko in the Qatar Open final.

After her 6-4 7-5 victory, Czech Muchova said it had “been a while since I won a tournament, so it’s nice to get that feeling again”.

The win – her first WTA 1,000 event and second overall after the Korea Open seven years ago – will move her from 19th to 11th in the updated world rankings on Monday.

In a clean opening set the 29-year-old landed 75% of her first serves with just three points dropped on them.

Despite falling to defeat, Mboko, who started the 2025 season ranked outside the top 300, will jump inside the top 10 as she has the most match wins on the women’s tour this season.

Acknowledging it was “not the outcome I wanted”, she added: “There are so many positives to take away.”

The next WTA 1,000 event gets under way in Doha on Sunday, but without Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek, the world’s top two players.

Dafydd Jenkins has sprung to the defence of Wales captain Dewi Lake, saying he will “support him in what way he can”.

Lake was one of four Wales players yellow carded in last Saturday’s humiliating defeat by England and cut a sorry figure after the match, saying they let themselves and the nation down.

Jenkins knows all too well the pressures that go with the armband having led Wales during their 2024 Six Nations whitewash.

“You’re very emotional after the game, especially when you don’t do what you say you’re going to do,” said Jenkins.

“It can be very frustrating when all you’re trying to do is figure out solutions to the problems and then you have to go speak to the media.

Wales rugby legend Jonathan ‘Jiffy’ Davies said it looked like Lake was “carrying the world on his shoulders” and questioned whether the captaincy should be handed over to Jenkins or fellow lock Adam Beard.

Jenkins said: “Dewi is an awesome captain and someone the boys get behind, a great bloke as well off the pitch.

“I’m trying to be there to support him in what way I can, probably not through words but by actions.

In a one-sided affair at Allianz Stadium, Wales continued to be plagued by poor discipline and a malfunctioning set piece, something they can ill-afford against a Grand Slam-chasing French side on Sunday.

Jenkins said no one was more frustrated in defeat than the players.

“The fans think it’s frustrating, imagine how we feel when we don’t do what we say we’re going to do,” he said.

“England are a class team, France are a class team, you can’t give them any easy ins or you’re not going to stand a chance.

“As players we’ve been very honest about that and the sort of the penalties you don’t need to give away.

“We can’t be expecting to win games when our set piece is not functioning, especially at national level, and then we can’t give up the gain line as easy.

Jenkins, 23, has captained Rob Baxter’s resurgent Exeter Chiefs side this season with the play-offs very much in sight.

“It’s class down there,” he said, citing quality players and quality people.

One of his good friends is Wales forward Christ Tshiunza who has been linked with a move to Cardiff next season.

“I hope he doesn’t [go], because he’s a good mate. We’ve come through all the age groups together,” said Jenkins.

Jenkins says there a similarities in terms of where Exeter were a couple of seasons ago and where Wales find themselves now.

“The thing with Exeter, it wasn’t huge changes we had to make, it was just the little ones, everyday training and stuff,” he said.

“You make those changes, have a good pre-season, have a good first few games, get that momentum and the season comes a lot easier.

“It’s similar here [with Wales]. We’re a young group and I believe if we continue to make those changes and push as a team, we will be a good side.

Gloucester-Hartpury made it 10 wins out of 10 in Premiership Women’s Rugby as they ran in seven tries at home to third-placed Harlequins.

Sisilia Tuipulotu starred for the defending champions, helping them on their way to a comprehensive 45-22 victory with two first-half tries.

The league leaders opened a 10-point cushion over second-placed Saracens, who host Bristol Bears on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Sale Sharks won 36-31 at Trailfinders in Saturday’s other match.

Kate Williams touched down an early opener for Gloucester-Hartpury but Harlequins scored two tries either side of Tuipulotu’s double, through Ella Cromack and Lauren Torley.

The visitors went into half-time trailing just 19-10 and refused to let the league leaders pull away, twice responding to scores from Kelsey Jones and Tatyana Heard with tries of their own from Liana Mikaele-Tu’u and Aoife Wafer.

The Ireland international’s effort earned a losing bonus point for Quins, before Gloucester-Hartpury made the result safe with late tries from Maud Muir and Lucy Simpson.

Elsewhere, Sale Sharks produced a battling display at Trailfinders to come from 10 points down with 20 minutes remaining to clinch their second win of the season.

Charlotte Fray ran in the decisive late try for the Sharks, but they remain seventh in the table, eight points behind fifth-placed Trailfinders.

Premiership Women Rugby action continues with two games on Sunday (15 February):

Harry Brook’s laugh as he began his post-match press conference said plenty.

“We haven’t quite made it as easy as we would have liked so far,” the relieved England captain said.

After three games at this T20 World Cup, England have escaped against Nepal, been thrashed by West Indies and now come through a nervy win against Scotland.

Beat Italy on Monday and they will be through to the Super 8s.

England have, of course, also been here before.

They have won three World Cups, two in the 20-over format and the 50-over competition in 2019, and on each occasion they lost at least once before going on to lift the trophy.

Across the nine previous men’s T20 World Cups, only once, India last time around in 2024, has a team gone through the tournament unbeaten.

A defeat at this stage, or an unconvincing performance like the one put in on Saturday in Kolkata, does not decide the eventual outcome.

India were 77-6 against the United States, Australia were beaten by Zimbabwe and the much-fancied South Africa almost chucked away a winning position against Afghanistan in a tournament that has been more competitive from the start than any of its previous iterations.

But that does not mean poor performances can simply be ignored.

Yes, reach your peak at the right time.

Opener Phil Salt said on Friday “nobody can live with” England when “we are at our best” but they remain a long way from it.

This five-wicket victory margin, sealed with 10 balls to spare, suggested a more comfortable afternoon than England had in reality.

Again there was jeopardy – Jos Buttler failing to reach 40 for the eighth time for England this year, Salt offering too much famine amid the feast, an uncertainty among batters when the ball moves and, most worryingly, another refusal to learn while the game is in its flow.

Eight of Scotland’s 10 wickets fell as batters attempted to sweep, pull or heave the ball into the leg side. Having watched that, Jacob Bethell, Brook and Sam Curran took it upon themselves to ensure more catching practice was offered.

It is no surprise Tom Banton, who missed with a sweep early on and then put the shot away entirely, went on to be England’s highest scorer and match-winner.

Banton’s knock was a breakthrough moment for a batter who, having been handed a debut aged 20 in 2019, had only made four fifties across his 36 previous innings.

Here he looked far more mature than he did back on that tour of New Zealand, or the home summer that followed and his success pushes away any doubts over the make-up of the top order.

Ben Duckett’s route into the XI appears to have been blocked.

There have been other positives for England over the past week in India.

Jofra Archer was more threatening, more accurate, against Scotland after conceding 90 runs combined against Nepal and West Indies.

But still England are clinging to the hope that something will eventually click, that something will simply fall into place and provide them with their first complete performance of the competition.

It may come – possibly, should they beat Italy, on a flight back to the comfort of Sri Lanka where they won 3-0 before this trip – but right now England do not seem entirely clear where to look.

“I don’t know,” said Brook, asked why his side have not found their groove. “Things haven’t seemed to have clicked so far yet.”

He said what we can all see.

Brook was part of England’s squads at the 2022 and 2024 World Cups, which both began badly before turning in differing directions.

In 2022, England lost to Ireland but responded by comprehensively beating a New Zealand side that just thrashed hosts Australia by 89 runs.

England need a similar performance soon to reboot their tournament because right now it feels more akin to their efforts in 2024, when their only wins came against Oman, Namibia, the United States and West Indies.

England reached the semi-finals on that trip around the Caribbean but were beaten each time they faced the real contenders – Australia, South Africa and India.

In truth, the spark from England’s white-ball sides has been absent going back much further, ever since that night in Melbourne in November 2022.

It was absent at the 2023 World Cup, in the Caribbean in 2024 and at the Champions Trophy in Pakistan last year when the hiring of Brendon McCullum as white-ball coach failed to raise them from their slump and they left without winning a match.

Brook says it is the “belief” in the squad that makes him confident this tournament would be more like 2022 than 2024.

“We’ve been in this situation before where we have lost a game early and World Cups aren’t always smooth sailing,” he said.

Outside of the dressing room, that belief is waning.

If Brook cannot find it then coach McCullum must because an underwhelming run to the semi-finals did not save former coach Matthew Mott his job in 2024.

Salt thinks England can beat anyone on their day and it is time for them to pinpoint a date in the calendar.

Most of sport’s successful teams have had an arrogant streak. Crucially, though, it needs to be earned.