Canadian Victoria Mboko Steps Into Tennis Spotlight Ahead of U.S. Open
The 18-year-old went from being ranked 350th in the world at the end of 2024 to No. 24 this week after winning the Canadian Open final over Naomi Osaka on Thursday. Mboko became the second-youngest player to defeat four former Grand Slam winners—Sofia Kenin, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina and Osaka—in the same tournament. The youngest was her idol Serena Williams, who did so at 17 in the 1999 U.S. Open.
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Although Mboko has made a name for herself among hardcore tennis fans this year, it's safe to say that most sports fans may have not heard of her until this week. However San Francisco-based marketing expert Bob Dorfman said that she's already showing some of the tools that can make her the perfect pitchwoman for brands.
'She seems to be pretty composed and confident on camera, kind of a bubbly teenager,' he said in a phone interview. 'A great backstory with her parents coming over from Africa, and her parents seem like really fun people to watch in the stands.'
Mboko was born in Charlotte, N.C., after her family moved to the U.S. to avoid the political strife in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They moved further north when she was two months old, settling in Toronto. She's the youngest of four children, all whom play and coach tennis.
Anjali Bal, a sports marketing professor at Babson College and avid tennis fan, called Mboko an electric and extraordinary tennis talent. She believes that Mboko can be one of the emerging faces of women's tennis, a sport that has long delivered strong sponsorship value and viewership around the globe.
'Her youth, charisma and compelling story as a proud Canadian and immigrant make her deeply relatable and aspirational,' Bal said in an email. 'For brands, she offers a rare opportunity: high visibility and cultural resonance at a fraction of the cost of more established athletes. Mboko is not just a rising star—she's a powerful ambassador for the future of Canadian tennis.'
Mboko, who is sponsored by Wilson for both apparel and rackets, has a story that isn't just a Canadian one but also an immigrant one. In a highly charged political climate both in Canada and the U.S., some marketers may steer from engaging in narratives that could be perceived as political. Bal said that would be a mistake.
'To ignore that narrative would be to deny the very essence of what makes [Mboko] compelling,' she said. 'Her identity isn't a distraction from her success; it's part of the reason people are drawn to her. In fact, embracing her full story allows brands to connect with audiences on a deeper, more human level. Mboko is marketable not just because she's a champion, but because she embodies the values so many admire. Also, she has a killer serve, which doesn't hurt.'
No matter where a player is from, winning matters over all else, which is why Dorfman cautioned against hitching any major marketing wagon onto Mboko just yet.
'You've got to win a Grand Slam tournament to really break through,' Dorfman said. 'You can kind of succeed around the edges, if you have a cool story and you're a great personality, but you're not going to crack through to the general fan, to the more average fan, to the non-hardcore fan, unless you win the big tournaments.'
Although Bal thinks Mboko's story will resonate beyond wins for those within the communities she represents, she added that 'winning remains one of the strongest predictors of visibility and appeal.'
'Players who build strong personal narratives, engage authentically with fans and represent broader values—such as diversity, resilience, or national pride—can maintain relevance even without a Grand Slam title, but sans a title, that popularity is harder to grow outside of local community,' Bal said.
If anything, a few wins at a Grand Slam could net some decent earnings for Mboko. On Wednesday, the USTA announced that it increased player compensation by 20% to $90 million, the biggest purse in tennis history. Winners of the singles' tournaments will net $5 million, up 39% from last year. Even first-round losers will get a pay bump to $110,000, a 10% increase from last summer.
According to the WTA's prize money career and year-to-date leaderboards, Mboko has earned $1.26 million in her short career thus far, picking up all but nearly $62,000 of that in 2025 alone.
Mboko has played a lot of tennis this year, winning 51 of her 60 matches in 2025, including her first 22, a three-win debut at this year's French Open and a 'lucky loser' draw at Wimbledon. Health willing, Canada's latest tennis phenom is primed to increase those earnings on and off the court.
'Being only 18, she has an incredibly long career ahead of her,' Dorfman said. 'If she's successful, [she'll be] somebody that a marketer would want to latch on to now and stick with. You never know what's going to happen with all these tennis players, but if her recent performance is any indication, she's going to be a major star.'
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