Who is Victoria Mboko? The surging Canadian youngster vying for first WTA title
Yet, where Raducanu's charge seemingly came out of the blue having come through qualifying en route to winning the title, Mboko's run feels more like the culmination of a superb season.
The teenager began 2025 ranked outside the top 300 players on the women's tour but a breakthrough year saw her win 22 successive matches in January and February to clinch four ITF singles titles and by early May, her win-loss record for the season was 33–3.
Her success sent her inside the top 200 in the rankings and earned her a wildcard entry into a first WTA 1000 main draw at the Miami Open where she defeated Camila Osorio in the first round. Mboko then qualified for the Italian Open and was beaten by Coco Gauff in the second round despite taking the opening set off the American.
Two Grand Slam appearances followed, the first at the French Open where Mboko fought through qualifying and made it to the third round and the second at Wimbledon where she lost to Hailey Baptiste.
But, the best was yet to come.
Mboko was born in Charlotte, North Carolina but was raised in Toronto, Canada and is a Canadian citizen. The National Bank Open is her 'home' tournament and a straight set win over Kimberly Birrell in the opening round kick started her remarkable run.
Not only that but that victory shot her to a career-best No. 85 in the world rankings and her run through the tournament in Montreal is set to propel her inside the top 50.
On her way to the semi-finals she had dropped just one set, against Czech Republic's Marie Bouzkova, having seen off experienced threats such as Sofia Kenin and Gauff in a rematch of their Italian Open meeting. Mboko was the superior player this time around and swept the No.1 seed aside 6-1, 6-4 in the round of 16.
Onlookers may have thought her remarkable tournament would end in the last four as she was drawn against 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina but Mboko revealed how strong her mental game is alongside an impressive physical performance on court.
Rybakina stormed through the first set, winning it 6-1, and had match point in the second which Mboko managed to save. After that she dug deep to take the set before clinching a deciding set tie break in front of adoring home supporters to become the first Canadian to beat three former Grand Slam champions in a single WTA event in the Open Era.
"I had everyone supporting me and pushing me through. Without you guys, I don't think I would've been able to pull this through," she said after defeating Rybakina.
Mboko is just the third wildcard to reach the final at the Canadian Open in the Open Era after Monica Seles in 1995 and Simona Halep in 2015. She now faces Naomi Osaka for the chance to win a first WTA title.
The four-time Grand Slam champion booked her place in a WTA final for the first time since Miami 2022 and is the first Japanese player in the Open Era to reach the final at the Canadian Open. She also has something to prove and will fight to end Mboko's fairytale run.
Winning the title in Montreal would, of course, be the crowning achievement of Mboko's incredible year but it is only the start of what could be a fascinating career for the Canadian teenager. Whether she beats Osaka or not, Mboko has a bright future ahead of her.
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