18-Year-Old Victoria Mboko Defies Odds, Advances to First WTA Tour Final Against Naomi Osaka
Eighteen-year-old Victoria Mboko, previously unrecognized on the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) website, is poised to face four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka in her maiden WTA Tour final. This remarkable turnaround came after a dramatic semifinal encounter against 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.
On the brink of elimination, Mboko saved a match point, took a medical timeout for a wrist injury, and rallied from a 1-6 deficit in the third set. The Canadian crowd’s support was instrumental in her comeback win, 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(4).
Mboko’s journey to the final included victories over Coco Gauff, who won the 2025 French Open, Sofia Kenin, and Rybakina – a trio boasting four Grand Slam singles titles. As a result, Mboko became the first Canadian to defeat three Grand Slam champions in a single WTA Tour event during the Open Era.
Moreover, she is the youngest Canadian woman ever to reach the final of the country’s premier tournament and only the fourth to achieve this milestone.
Remarkably, Mboko is one of only three wild card entrants to advance to the Canadian Open women’s final, joining Monica Seles (1995) and Simona Halep (2015).
At the end of 2024, Mboko was ranked No. 350. She peaked at No. 85 late last month and is now guaranteed to be among the world’s top 40 players, regardless of the outcome on Thursday night.
Mboko’s only prior final appearance was at the Parma Open, a lower-tier WTA 125 tournament, where she finished runner-up in May.
After her semifinal victory, an emotional Mboko expressed, “No words can even describe how I feel right now. If you had told me last year that I’d be in the final here, I would have thought you were crazy.”
Waving Canadian flags and carrying “Allez Vicky” signs, enthusiastic spectators filled the stands at IGA Stadium on Wednesday. The crowd is sure to be equally energetic when Mboko steps onto center court for what promises to be the biggest test of her career thus far.
Born on August 26, 2006, in North Carolina, Mboko’s family emigrated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the late 1990s and later settled in Toronto. The youngest of four siblings, she began playing tennis at the age of 3, inspired by her three tennis-playing siblings.
In a poignant twist, Mboko recounted attending the Canadian Open with her brothers and sister as a child. Her family’s support has been a crucial factor in her budding career; she often looks to them for comfort when feeling nervous.
Known for her powerful play and agility on the court, Mboko’s mental fortitude appears to be well beyond her years. She credits her ability to refocus after tough moments as key to her comeback victory.
2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens is optimistic about Mboko’s future, having observed the teenager at this year’s French Open. Stephens told CNN Sports, “I want her to have all the resources she possibly can to be the best player she can be. We see her now… I think she can be a Grand Slam champion. I think she could probably be world No. 1.”