4 days ago
Tennis star Victoria Mboko, 18, reveals she was in hospital just hours before beating Naomi Osaka in Canadian Open final
Mboko has climbed 309 places in the rankings this year
BREAKING POINT Tennis star Victoria Mboko, 18, reveals she was in hospital just hours before beating Naomi Osaka in Canadian Open final
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VICTORIA MBOKO was in hospital just hours before winning the Canadian Open final.
The 18-year-old star beat the four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka 2-6 6-4 6-1 in last night's final.
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Victoria Mboko was in hospital just hours before winning the Canadian Open
Credit: Getty
Mboko produced a stunning performance to come from behind against the player she idolised growing up.
But just hours before she was due on court in Montreal, the Canadian wonderkid was in hospital with a wrist injury she picked up after falling in her semi-final victory over ex-Wimbledon champ Elena Rybakina.
Mboko admitted the pain "aggravated" her during the final, but she was too "motivated" for it to stop her in the biggest match of her career.
After getting her hands on the trophy, she revealed: "I woke up this morning and I actually had my wrist a little bit swollen from yesterday's fall.
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"And we quickly went to the hospital to do an MRI and an X-ray before I came to the courts to practice today.
"So once we got the green light that nothing too serious was going on in the wrist, I came here and practised real fast and prepared for my match.
"I think today, regarding all the events that I did, it feels a lot sweeter."
Quizzed further on the injury, Mboko added: "I was pretty nervous, especially when I woke up this morning.
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"It was pretty swollen and it was really stiff and hard to move.
"We decided to go to do an MRI and an X-ray just to make sure that nothing too serious was happening.
"When I got the green light, I just had to make sure I saw the physios and we taped it up properly before the match, a very solid tape job.
"I did feel it a little bit during the match. I wouldn't say I didn't feel it at all.
"There's obviously some moments where it was aggravating me a lot, but I feel like it was the final.
"I just kept saying to myself: 'You have one more to go.'
"I had, of course, the extra motivation from the crowd as well to keep pushing. I tried to block it out of my head as much as possible.'
Mboko is tipped to be a future Grand Slam champion and is surging up the rankings ahead of this month's US Open.
She began the year as world No333. but her rise has taken her up to world No24.
