Victoria Mboko is playing 'top-level tennis,' but the Canadian athlete wants to 'live as normal a life as possible'
If you're paying any attention to the world of tennis, you've likely come across the name Victoria Mboko. The Canadian athlete may only be 18, but she's climbing rankings at a swift pace — and she has the work ethic to show she belongs at the top.
The Charlotte, N.C.-born, Toronto-raised daughter of Congolese parents might be new to the scene, but she's making every moment count for her first season on the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) circuit. Mboko started the season as the 350th-ranked player in the world, but has quickly surged to a career-high 85th spot in the WTA rankings. She's now projected to climb into the top 50.
"Tennis takes up so much of my life that sometimes, it's really hard to not even talk about tennis or even go a day without talking about it because it's your livelihood," she explains during a conversation with Yahoo Canada for OT Diaries. "It's kind of your job."
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On Monday night, she defeated no. 51 seed Jessica Bouzas Maneiroshe at the National Bank Open in Montreal, propelling her on to the semifinals, where she'll play Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina on Wednesday, Aug. 6. She's the youngest woman to make the semifinals since Belinda Bencic in 2015. Prior to Monday night's win, she stunned fans on Saturday when she defeated no. 1 seed Coco Gauff. It was billed as the tournament's top match, and the Canadian rising star beat the American — who has a career-high ranking of second in the WTA — in just 62 minutes.
In March, she earned her first WTA Tour-level win in a first-round match against Camila Osorio at the Miami Open. Later in May, she qualified for the Italian Open, beating Arianna Zucchini, but later lost to Coco Gauff. But a comeback at the French Open saw Mboko land her first Grand Slam victory against Lulu Sun.
While the Burlington, Ont.-resident rarely spends time without a tennis racket in her hand, it's the outdoor jogs, dog walks and family connections that keep her grounded. Keep reading to learn how Mboko spends her free time, why she avoids setting goals for herself and more.
It's Mboko's first season on tour, and she's reached a career-high spot of No. 85 in the WTA rankings. (Photo by)
Everyone can see what might be happening during a tennis match, but what does your life look like off the court?
My rest days are a lot more relaxed and chill. I'm a lot more free in my mind because I don't have as much to do. I feel like on those days, I sleep in a ton and I take my mornings very slow. I probably go to my local cafe and do some work on my computer. I really don't think about tennis at all.
How do you find rest and upkeep your mental health when you're away from tennis?
On my days off, I feel like I'm running a lot of errands to make up for the time that I don't have when I'm practicing or playing tennis. I also like to go shopping a lot. I like to go to Sephora, Zara or H&M and get more clothes, or skincare and makeup. I like to go out with my friends a lot too, and just do fun things here and there.
Elite athletes' jobs require intensive health and wellness routines to ensure they're always at peak performance levels. But what do they do on their days off? And is there anything we can learn from them? In our new series OT Diaries, we ask your favourite players the things they do to get their minds and bodies ready for game day that have absolutely nothing to do with their sport — from how they unwind and what they're binge-watching to their favourite eats, what products they swear by and what fitness looks like for fun.
At the end of the day, sometimes I'll do some stretching or yoga — but not in a tennis sense. Just as an overall way to be more relaxed.
Do you play other sports?
I don't really do any other sports or anything, but I like to go on runs a lot, like outdoor runs along some trails. Especially when I'm home, I like to go on my trail and just have a little jog around my park.
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That's not even really related to tennis. Sometimes, say if I have a couple days off and I still want to be active because I'm more of an active person, I'll go on runs or walk my dog.
I presume tennis is a very intense, aggressive, mentally-rigorous sport. Does running help you mentally?
Oh, it definitely does. If I'm always thinking about tennis and there's really nothing else going on, you're kind of in a breakdown a little bit. You're not going to feel that much freedom within yourself, so I think it's really important to have those kinds of things.
We have a dog at home, so she's really great. I bring her everywhere. Especially when I come home, it's really nice to have her.
I love that. What's her name and her breed?
Ivy. She's a Yorkshire Terrier.
I'd love to discuss some of your recovery techniques. Is there anything that you use?
I do a lot of cupping, but my go-to is the Normatec Boots. I just put on my Normatec Boots, put it on the highest setting and do it for as long as I possibly can while scrolling through Instagram or TikTok.
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I think it helps a lot with the blood flow and after you take it off, especially if you do a very intense session of it, then your legs feel a little bit flimsy.
You previously said you don't like to set goals for yourself. Can you share more about that?
The reason why I usually say that or like to think that way is because in tennis, you never know what's going to happen. It's such an up and down sport. One week you can have a really good week, and some other weeks you don't have as good of a week.
Everything is super unexpected and that's why, for myself, I don't like to set goals, just because mentally, I always want to be in a good place. And I want everything to be taken in a positive way, and I think that's good for me because you don't really get too down on yourself and you always look ahead. That, overall, really helps you as a person to grow and as a player to not really set high expectations for yourself. That can catch up to you.
The Toronto-raised athlete avoids setting goals for herself because tennis is such an "up and down sport," and she prefers to remain positive. (Photo by Gao Jing/Xinhua via Getty Images)
You've also said Serena Williams is a major role model for you. What's it like looking up to her game and her strength in the sport itself?
Growing up, I always used to watch her playing the Rogers Cup and/or on TV playing the U.S. Open. I've always loved watching her matches and I've always loved the way she plays, and I think that she has so much presence on the court. She was such a legend at the time. I always felt like I wanted to be like her.
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Then again, I'm not her — I'm my own person. But she's always been my role model and I've always loved to see her play.
Do you have any other role models that you follow for your everyday life?
I'd probably say my sister. She's a lot older than me but she's always someone who is able to find solutions for me when some things go wrong. I just love the person she is, so I think I look up to her as well.
That's so sweet. How many siblings do you have?
I have three older siblings.
I read that they all also play tennis. Are they competitive or supportive?
I'd say I was more competitive as a younger kid because they're a lot older than me. But for them, they were always super supportive. It was never ever really competitive. They all wanted the best for me.
Even until today. Sometimes they'll come to my tournaments and support me. I'm so lucky to have siblings that are always there for me. Especially as a little sister, I think it's almost by law for them to come and help me out when they can.
Mboko notes she doesn't like looking at articles or social media chatter about herself, but can sense she's making moves in her sport. (Photo by)
You're a powerhouse in tennis right now. What's it like in terms of your family?
They're super supportive of me. Also as a family, we know it's really important to stay very kind of in your own bubble, because sometimes things can get really hectic.
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They do a really good job of keeping me grounded and not get caught up in media and everything else. I think having family and close friends are so important because they're the people who've known you since you were a baby. So, they've been doing a really great job of helping me stay really focused.
You're in the media so much nowadays. Coco Gauff said you're playing top-level tennis. What's it like being in such a bright spotlight at such a young age?
I don't really like to look at stuff that's about me. So, I never really noticed how big the noise is, or how things are going about on social media. But I can tell things have started to get bigger.
I'm disconnected from it all, which also helps me live my everyday life more normally. I just want to live as normal a life as possible and I just like to keep things to myself.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
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It's basically a 'No. 1 defenseman' type of commitment for a player who's only had Norris Trophy votes in two of his nine seasons and never finished higher than tenth. The case that it might be OK: One of those Norris vote years was last season, his first in Washington. Granted, he got exactly one fifth-place vote to finish 17th, but the point is he fit in nicely with the Capitals, scoring a career-high 20 goals. And as you may have heard, that Capitals team did pretty well, so keeping the group together makes sense. It's also worth mentioning that Chychrun's career has seen its share of games missed due to injury, but he played 74 games last year after playing all 82 the year before in Ottawa. Some guys are injury-prone and always will be, but some guys just have some bad luck along the way, and if Chychrun can be a full-season force, the Caps are in good shape, especially once John Carlson's deal comes off the books next summer. Key comparables: As with any defenseman, the first thing to do is mention Cale Makar making just $9 million for two more years, and the second thing is to toss that comparison away because it's an outlier. More fitting names would include fellow 27-year-olds Charlie McAvoy ($9.5 million through 2030) and Adam Fox ($9.5 million through 2029), which don't favor Chychrun. But there's also two older guys in Seth Jones ($9.5 million through 2030) and Darnell Nurse ($9.25 million through 2030), plus Ivan Provorov ($8.5 million through 2032). If you're a Caps fan, do those names make you feel better, or are they cautionary tales? The ruling: There are warning signs here, and the reality is that the Caps didn't seem to get much of a discount by going max-term on an older player. But given how much leverage was on the player's side, the team didn't completely overcommit. Until we see how the blue-line market settles into the rising cap era, I don't think it's a bad contract. The details: Mathew Barzal is 28 and entering the third year of a max-length extension that runs through 2031 and carries a cap hit of $9.15 million. The case that it's a bad contract: Remember when Barzal was a legitimate stud? He debuted with a Calder-winning season that saw him score 85 points, a rookie total that only Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin have topped during the cap era. But since then, he's had just one season north of 62 points, and last year he had just 20 points in 30 games. His stock has fallen so far that when Team Canada announced its orientation camp roster for next year's Olympics, he wasn't on it. That seems like a problem for a guy who carries the 11th highest cap hit among centers. Advertisement The case that it might be OK: He was injured for almost all of last year, so we can probably ditch those disappointing numbers. The year before that, he had 80 points, his best total since his rookie season. There's a reason new Isles management made it clear Barzal wasn't going anywhere. And while you don't want to overplay the 'cap is going up' card, we already covered how the center market is about to shift in the Pettersson section. When that happens, $9 million and change for a point-per-game guy shouldn't seem like an issue. Key comparables: Among similarly aged players, Barzal would rank well back of Sasha Barkov and Jack Eichel (both at $10 million), but they're viewed as bargains. Closer comparisons would be guys like Sebastian Aho, Brayden Point and Dylan Larkin, who all carry cap hits within $600K of Barzal's and have posted similar offensive numbers to his last healthy season. The ruling: I don't love it right now, but with five years in an evolving market and a return to good health hopefully in the mix, I'm not willing to say it's bad. Check back in a year, though. The details: Josh Norris is 26 and entering the fourth year of an eight-year deal he originally signed with the Senators in 2022, which carries a $7.95 million cap hit through 2030. The Sabres acquired him in a deal for Dylan Cozens at least year's deadline which was not especially well-received. The case that it's a bad contract: Norris carries the highest cap hit of any Sabres forward, but is coming off consecutive seasons that saw his point total stuck in the 30s while his games played was in the 50s. Injuries have been a big part of his story, including missing all but eight games in 2022-23. He's basically had one decent season in the NHL (a 35-goal, 55-point sophomore campaign in 2021-22) and has been both paid and hyped based on that single year. But three seasons and one team later, that year feels like an outlier for a disappointing player. The case that it might be OK: Injuries are a two-way sword with this sort of debate. Yes, he has to stay healthy to earn his cap hit, and he hasn't been able to. But that's also why his numbers have been lackluster, and if he can get back to full health another 30-goal season seems realistic. He's not a play-driver, but with a career shooting percentage of 18.1 (including two seasons north of 20), we can at least say that he has the potential to be an elite finisher, which is a hard skill to find in a center. And his teammates in Ottawa loved him. It's also worth noting Norris does not have any trade protection until next summer, and only a 10-team no-trade list after that, which gives the Sabres some flexibility if they need to reconsider the commitment. And he'll be 31 when this deal expires, so unlike almost everyone else who shows up in Cap Court, the team isn't on the hook for a bunch of write-off years at the end. Advertisement Key comparables: Norris slots in with similarly aged centers like Jack Hughes ($8 million) and Nick Suzuki ($7.85 million); that's not exactly flattering, but those are also two contracts that are often viewed as solid bargains for their respective teams. Other comparisons would include the Blues duo of Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou, both at $8.125 million. And of course, Norris will be forever linked with Dylan Cozens, whose deal has the same number of years left but carries a cheaper $7.1 million hit. The ruling: Putting aside who won or lost the trade, this contract feels like a risky bet for the Sabres, even as you can understand why they may have felt like they needed to make it. For now I'm ruling it a bad contract, but Norris will have a fast track to an appeal hearing if he can stay healthy enough to produce a big goal-scoring year. The details: Juuse Saros is 30 and signed a max-length extension last summer that only kicks in this year, meaning it runs all the way through 2033. The cap hit is $7.74 million, with a full NMC until the final two years, upon which it becomes a 15-team no-trade list. The case that it's a bad contract: Saros was a bad goalie last year. Maybe that's harsh, but it's reality for a guy who finished the year at .895. Worse, it was the second year in a row that his save percentage dipped by over 10 points, meaning we can't just hand-wave this away as goalies being weird. The Predators had a choice last summer – stick with Saros, or trade him to one of the several teams desperate for established goaltending and turn things over to blue-chip prospect Yaroslav Askarov. They decided to make a big-dollar gamble on the veteran and trade the kid, and one year later it sure looks like they bet wrong. The case that it might be OK: First of all, this is Cap Court, not Trade Decisions With Hindsight Court, so whatever happened around last year's extension doesn't really matter. The Predators' call in the crease made sense based on what they were trying to do at the time, and what's done is done. More importantly for our purposes, Saros signed for what seemed like a discount, coming in under $8 million while knowing Igor Shesterkin was about to reset the market for top goalies to well north of $10 million. And Saros has been a top goalie, finishing in the top six in Vezina voting four years in a row from 2021 through 2024. Last year was a disaster for pretty much everyone in Nashville, but that doesn't mean it's the new normal for a guy who's earned some benefit of the doubt. Key comparables: Saros ranks tenth for goalie cap hit heading into next season. Among guys signed through at least 2030, he ranks sixth, and is kind of on his own – the three guys immediately ahead of him are Ilya Sorokin, Jeremy Swayman and Jake Oettinger at $8.25 million, and then a drop all the way down to Lukas Dostal at $6.5 million and Adin Hill at $6.25 million. The ruling: I'm tempted to say 'you never know with goalies' and call it a day. But that's exactly it — you never really know, which is why committing to a max-length deal to a guy who's already 30 is so risky. And while the cap is going up, there aren't any studs in their 20s scheduled for new deals over the new few years, so the goalie market may be pretty much set. I'm kind of shocked to be saying this on a deal I didn't mind at the time and under which Saros hasn't even played a game yet, but I think this one might already have gone bad. (Top photo of Juuse Saros, Dante Fabbro and Elias Pettersson: Bob Frid / USA Today) Spot the pattern. 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