Victoria Mboko has advanced to the final of the National Bank Open in Montreal, where she will face four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka.
The 18-year-old Canadian defeated ninth seed Elena Rybakina in an incredible comeback victory. According to Sky Sports, the young star came from a 6-1 set deficit to successfully force a decider with Rybakina and also saved a match point and broke the 2022 Wimbledon winner twice to force a final tie-breaker.
“Incredible match, thank you to everyone for supporting me,” Mboko told the crowd in French. “It was really difficult, but anything can happen.
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“Playing in front of the home crowd, obviously, has its advantages. You always have everyone pumping you up as much as they can. It really pulls me through in the tough moments where I’m maybe not as positive. Really blessed to have that kind of support.”
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After falling awkwardly to the ground in the second game of the third set, the teenager fought through a wrist injury and overcame 11 double faults. After the event, she said that her wrist felt “a lot better.”
“She was playing really great tennis on top of that, but I’m happy that I kept my composure,” Mboko said of her stumble. “I was patient in the right moments. I just feel really happy that I was able to bounce back after being down, even a match point, I think.”
Mboko began the year below the top 300, but now she will rise to at least 34th in the world.
She had beaten top seed Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 earlier in the contest, and she had also crushed Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in straight sets in their quarterfinal match, winning 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) to secure her place in the final.
According to the CBC, she is the youngest female to get to the semifinals since Belinda Bencic’s victory in Toronto in 2015.
Mboko, who is currently ranked 85th in the world, is attempting to win her maiden WTA Tour title and join Faye Urban (1969) and Bianca Andreescu (2019) as the only Canadians to win their home event in the open era.
On Thursday night, the teenager will take on former world number one Osaka, who defeated 16th seed Clara Tauson 6-2, 7-6 (9-7) in the other semifinal.
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Mboko was born to Congolese parents in Charlotte, North Carolina, and raised in Toronto. The young prodigy is predicted to break into the world’s top 50 after having a breakthrough year, rising from outside the top 300 to a career-high No. 85.
Mboko had potential as a junior. She successfully defended her maiden professional singles title in 2023 after winning it at the ITF W25 tournament in Saskatoon in 2022.
She won five titles on the lower-tier ITF Tour and began the season with a 22-match winning run. Mboko subsequently advanced to the French Open’s third round, her maiden Grand Slam main draw, before defeating 25th-seeded Magdalena Frech in Wimbledon’s opening round.
The youngest of four siblings, Mboko started playing tennis at the age of 3 after being inspired by her three siblings who also play tennis, according to the WTA.
Mboko is coached by former world No 3, 1998 Wimbledon finalist and 1997 Billie Jean King Cup champion Nathalie Tauziat.
