Victoria Mboko's dream run in Montreal continues

Globe and Mail

15 hours ago

Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko commanded the stage once again on Monday night, storming into the semi-finals at the National Bank Open with another remarkable win.
The 18-year-old wild card played beyond her years again, swiftly beating World No. 51 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain 6-4, 6-2 in the quarter-finals to extend her storybook run in Montreal.
The Mboko show continues for at least another two days. The Torontonian plays in her first-ever WTA semi-final on Wednesday, versus No. 9-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan. Mboko earns another shot at the World No. 12, who recently eliminated her from the DC Open in Washington, an opponent with a Wimbledon title to her name.
After her upset win over Gauff, Mboko is the headliner in Montreal NBO
It's hard to remember that the kid who looks at home under the lights is in fact making her main draw debut at this tournament.
As she makes just her third career WTA 1000 event, Mboko is quickly becoming one of the tour's most successful rising stars of 2025.
Two days earlier, Mboko earned the biggest win of her career – a straight-sets triumph over World No. 2 and two-time Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff. It had been the Canadian's first-ever victory over a Top 10 player in just her third attempt. Mboko also beat 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, and world No. 39 Marie Bouzkova during this Montreal run.
Her profile is swelling as the tournament goes along. More feature night matches, bigger crowds, more autographs and press conferences. While the stands were sparse for Monday's 6 p.m. ET quarter-final between Elena Rybakina and Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk, plenty of fans were stopping by Mboko's short pre-match practice on a quiet backcourt, guided by coach Nathalie Tauziat, the French former pro, world No. 3 and Wimbledon finalist.
By the time Mboko took the court at 7:45 p.m., IGA Stadium was jam packed and rocking for the fresh face who has become the headliner. As she keeps advancing, more media have turned up in Montreal. Homegrown celebrity athletes from Georges St-Pierre to Bruny Surin have come to watch her.
The upstart's big year has been getting better and better. It has also included four straight singles trophies on the ITF Tour, earning her first WTA-level win, taking a set off world No. 11 Paula Badosa in Miami, a set off Gauff in Rome and a run to the third round at Roland Garros.
While she came to Montreal ranked No.85, Monday's win will catapult the runaway teen into the top 50.
It was Mboko's first-ever meeting with Bouzas Maneiro, 22, who was also seeking her first WTA semi-final. She was aiming to become the first Spanish woman to reach the semi-finals at this tournament since two stars, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Conchita Martinez, each made the 2000 semis.
Both players faced pressure in their first service games and each fended off break points. It remained close until Mboko went up a break for a 5-3 lead, capitalizing on the Spaniard's misses. When Mboko tried to serve for the set, she stumbled with a double fault and Bouzas Maneiro broke right back. The 18-year-old countered with another break and won the opening set.
Mboko had a letdown to start the second set, broken right off the hop. But she hung in and soon broke back, the Montreal crowd roaring for her while she used the noise as fuel. She rallied back from down 0-2 to steal the set.
Mboko is the first Canadian woman to make the semis at this tournament since Bianca Andreescu won it in 2019. She becomes the youngest woman to reach this event's semi-finals since Belinda Bencic won the title in 2015.