Victoria Mboko's Montreal magic: the Canadian teen who toppled four grand slam champions

[cbabe]

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/aug/08/victoria-mboko-montreal-wta-title-osaka-gauff-rybakina-kenin

Victoria Mboko’s Montreal magic: the Canadian teen who toppled four grand slam champions

The 18-year-old wildcard stunned Osaka, Gauff, Rybakina and Kenin to win her first WTA 1000 title – and rocket from obscurity into the world’s top 25

Courtney Nguyen
Fri 8 Aug 2025 06.25 EDT

Canada was still catching its collective breath from Summer McIntosh’s record-breaking swims when 18-year-old Victoria Mboko grabbed the spotlight at the National Bank Open and never let go.

In front of a sold-out crowd in Montreal, the 85th-ranked Canadian wildcard finished her Cinderella title run on Thursday night by beating former world No 1 Naomi Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 to win her first WTA Tour title. Prolonged cheers for Mboko interrupted play 30 minutes into the men’s final being played concurrently 330 miles west in her hometown of Toronto. “I guess the Canadian player won in Montreal,” chair umpire Fergus Murphy explained to the confused players.

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Mboko’s game has proven to be a difficult Rubik’s Cube to solve, even for the game’s best. It is as intelligent as it is physical, a potent blend of power and discipline. She can overwhelm her opponents with power or use her speed and defense to trap them into errors. The choice, on any given day, is hers.

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Mboko’s parents, Cyprien Mboko and Godee Kitadi, fled the Democratic Republic of Congo due to the political turmoil in 1999 and emigrated to the United States. Victoria was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, before the family relocated to Toronto. Her older siblings all played tennis, with her sister Gracia and brother Kevin being good enough to play at the collegiate level.

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[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. Like wow! I'm glad that these immigrants found a congenial place to live in Canada. US loss is Canada's gain

Wonderful that she could get her first WTA Tour win in her home country.