Victoria Mboko Has Won A Masters Title And Why Stop There?

Forbes

6 hours ago

Victoria Mboko is only 18 years old, but presents more insouciance than innocence on the court. Her Canadian Open title win showcased the teenager's ability to keep calm and carry on when elders and betters are losing their heads.
Facing defeat at 4-5 and 5-6 in the third set against Elena Rybakina in the semifinal, Mboko refused to accept that misused phrase, 'the inevitable.' Naomi Osaka obliterated her in the first set of the final, but then realised she was in a fight she couldn't win. While Mboko beamed in the Montreal moonlight, Osaka might have been forgiven for thinking that tennis was much more fun as a teenager.
'Emma Raducanu rules' mean that any fanfare has to be put strictly on hold. After all, the Burlington resident hasn't gone straight to the major table to grab a big one yet. She's beaten four major title winners though, including Coco Gauff, which is not something Raducanu had to achieve to win that incredible U.S. Open title.
Winning a WTA 1000 first, earning a $752,275 pay check and then upgrading to head of the class at Flushing Meadows would probably be a fairytale too far. What is certain is that Mboko has weapons and a mind that sees and computes in real time.
After Lois Boisson's march to the French Open semifinals, wildcards in the women's game are certainly rocking the place. Mboko's success feels like something that has come entirely from left field, but Paris was one of the first signs that something was brewing just as Raducanu's Wimbledon 2021 run made some sit up and take notice.
'She hits the ball hard, and then she has a great serve. She has, you know, huge power. She moves on the court well,' Zheng Qinwen said after defeating the Canadian in the third round at Roland Garros. Those are qualities that will tick a lot of the major boxes. Free points on serve and the ability to run balls down are going to be a difference maker in a game where athleticism can create opportunities others don't get.
Coach Nathalie Tauziat's imprints are on helping the wider tactical acumen too, mixing up the ​slice and the approach with a package of volley highlights. Such a skillset means Mboko will never be as green as the grass. There is nothing one-dimensional about the world No. 24. She started the year ranked at 350, which proves that there's no time like the present.
One of the most striking features of Mboko's success is her ability to play as if she were in the park. Her calmness and composure under pressure are a skill that is absolute gold dust in the highly pressurised chamber of elite sport. It was six-time world snooker champion Steve Davis who once said that the trick was to 'play as if it means nothing when it means everything.' She's got that ability to switch to leisure and freedom mode when others might get tight.
'Pretend like you're playing somewhere else, that you're not at a Grand Slam. It's another clay-court tournament. That way, I don't put as much pressure on myself and the points,' Mboko said after beating Lulu Sun in the first round at the French Open. In Montreal, she carried out this action plan to perfection.
It's easy to say professional players have nothing to lose when they are on the brink of defeat. That's another lazy phrase that demeans the dynamic of sport. Picking the harder option to be the last woman standing takes huge effort and belief.
Mboko's hard labor of love has been spent on accumulating wins on the ITF Tour, clocking up five titles. Eventually, she got a wild card for the Miami Open and pushed Paula Badosa in a third-set tiebreaker. A 53-9 win record in 2025 is the barometer for a winning habit that has become second nature under the big lights.
Only time will tell if she can follow through when the interest level and external volume press more tightly up against the window of her small and trusted team. Comparisons with Raducanu come again here as she likes a trusted team around her.
Osaka was front and centre back when she was a teen, taking it to her idol Serena Williams at the U.S. Open in 2018. In her acceptance speech, Mboko namechecked the Japanese as someone she looked up to during her childhood.
Osaka is in a different sphere right now, a player who has suffered on and off the court despite never losing a major final. Mboko would give everything for her record, but without the troubles. 'I want to go there (New York) with a positive mindset. I want to have as much fun as possible.' Sounds like a good plan. It's only a game.