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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Toronto teen Mboko extends perfect run to reach third round at French Open
PARIS — Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko was No. 333 in the WTA Tour rankings at the start of 2025. On Friday, she'll play in the third round of the French Open main draw. It has been an unexpectedly fast and furious climb up the women's professional tennis ladder, and she's just getting started. 'I was very focused throughout the whole match," Mboko said Wednesday after seeing off No. 59 ranked Eva Lys of Germany, 6-4, 6-4 in her second-round match. "Of course she was a very solid player, especially from the baseline. She really made me earn every single point." Ranked No. 156 at the April 21 entry deadline for the qualifying, Mboko was unseeded. And yet, she ran through three quality players — Sinja Kraus of Austria, Kathinka Von Deichmann of Liechtenstein and Kaja Juvan of Slovenia — without dropping a single set. She continued that run in her first-round win over Lulu Sun of New Zealand, a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon last year, and added another straight-sets win over Lys, a 23-year-old currently ranked a career-high No. 59. With the win over Lys, Mboko will officially enter the top 100 after the end of the French Open. She currently boasts a 'live' ranking of No. 89 as she prepares to meet No. 8 seed Zheng Qinwen in the third round on Friday. Mboko, who was born in the United States and raised in Toronto, began the season making moves on the lower-tier ITF circuit. After 22 straight victories and four titles, she was on her way. Few were paying attention then. But through her agency IMG, she was able to get a wild card into both the Miami Open and the Italian Open — WTA 1000-level events similar to Canada's National Bank Open. She pushed No. 10 Paula Badosa to a third-set tiebreak in Miami and took world No. 2 Coco Gauff to three sets in Rome, drawing huge plaudits from the 21-year-old American who saw something of herself in her Canadian opponent. After reaching the final of a WTA 125 tournament in Parma, Italy, Mboko headed straight to Paris. She had competed at Roland Garros three years ago during a successful junior career that brought her to No. 4 in the world but also had her competing with a knee that hurt every single day for several years. She's healthy now, finally. And this was her first Grand Slam tournament in the senior ranks. Mboko has made the most of it. That anonymity she enjoyed just a few months ago is gone now. With every victory she has posted in Paris, the spotlight has only become more bright. All four Mboko children played tennis; fellow Canadian players Denis Shapovalov and Félix Auger-Aliassime both remember Kevin Mboko fondly from their early years. But Mboko, by far the youngest of the four, ended up having that something special. Her father Cyprien, a retired engineer who immigrated from the Democratic Republic of Congo with wife Godée in the early 2000s, and who shepherded all four of his children through the junior tennis system in the Toronto area, is on hand. Kevin and her big sister Gracia, who turns 29 on Thursday, are both in Paris supporting her. After her qualifying victories, one Canadian journalist was there to get her thoughts as they stood outside the entrance to the second stadium court, Suzanne-Lenglen, at the other end of the site. After beating Lys on Wednesday, Mboko was assigned the main press conference room in the Roland Garros media centre. She also had one-on-one interviews with European and American sports networks, with the French sports daily L'Équipe and with a well-known tennis podcast. Everyone is hopping aboard the Mboko bandwagon. 'Of course there is so much happening, even behind the scenes. But I feel like my family has been doing a good job of keeping me really isolated from it all. I have just been enjoying the moment. And I have been enjoying time with my sister and my brother,' she said. Mboko hasn't been home to spend time with family much in recent years. She spent about seven months at the Justine Henin Academy in Belgium last year — there were people from that academy in attendance for her first-round victory, followed by a hug-filled reunion. And this year, she has been on the road constantly — the French Open is her 11th tournament of the season. Plus she made her Billie Jean King Cup debut representing Canada in Japan last month. She still has braces on her upper teeth; she said she has to wait to get them taken off until she's home in Burlington, Ont., for a decent amount of time. But before all that, she will face Zheng on Friday. Zheng, a finalist at the 2024 Australian Open who won Olympic gold in singles on these same red clay courts last summer, said Mboko's age and inexperience don't mean she'll underestimate her. 'I think every time I see a young player coming, they have a lot of hunger, for sure. They fight a lot, because it's their dream place. But same as me; it's my dream place too,' Zheng said. 'When you arrive in the professional tour, you don't think any more about the age because everybody's the same. You just face another opponent.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2025. Stephanie Myles, The Canadian Press
Kuwait Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Kuwait Times
Taiwan's Garland vows to keep the faith on Grand Slam debut
PARIS: Taiwan's world number 175 Joanna Garland told AFP she will rely on her self-belief as she prepares for her second-round match at the French Open after overcoming a serious injury to qualify for a maiden Grand Slam appearance. After navigating her way through the qualifiers last week, Garland secured her first win at the main draw of a Grand Slam by battling past American Katie Volynets in three sets at Roland Garros. Tuesday's win was the culmination point of a long journey for the 23-year-old through injury and doubts to reach the pinnacle of tennis. "I'm still in a little bit of disbelief because I was quite far down in the third set and felt like I didn't have much more to give," Garland said after winning four straight games in the decider to beat her 65th-ranked opponent. "So yeah, quite a bit in disbelief, but of course I'm happy that I won and I really did, going out into the match, I did believe I could pull it off." After a promising junior career which featured a win over future Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, Garland has endured an up-and-down start to life in the senior tour, missing most of 2024 with injury and dropping out of the top 500. "I rolled my ankle in practice and I actually did it quite badly," she explained. "Looking back at it, I didn't realize that at the time. I tried coming back too soon and messed it up even more. I really struggled and at times did question whether I was ever going to reach where I am now." But she fought her way back to fitness and quashed any uncertainty she may have had about continuing by racking up a 29-match ITF winning streak to end last season and reach a career-high ranking. Now Garland is in the second round of a major, where she will face 32nd seed Yulia Putintseva. "Obviously, she's a great player. I have a lot of respect for her and I know it's not going to be an easy match at all," Garland said. "I'm just going to try to get myself ready in the best way possible and back myself. That's what I've been doing this whole week. I've been believing in myself and hopefully that can bring out my best tennis." Should she beat the Kazakh former world number 20, she will likely move on to face the sixth seed and rising star of tennis Mirra Andreeva in the round of 32. 'Strong connection with Taiwan' Born in England, Garland moved to Taiwan with her parents before her teenage years. However, she said the choice to represent Taiwan rather than Britain was a natural one for her. "I didn't really give it (choosing her sporting nationality) much thought and neither did my parents," she explained. "I do remember being a 12-year-old and watching the Olympic Games in London and seeing the Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) team walk out and having such a small team. So I told my parents that I felt like the team's so small that I want to represent them in the future." Britain, as a host nation for one of the four tennis Grand Slams, is a tempting choice for any rising player and representing her country of birth could have provided Garland with an easier route to reaching the main draw of a major earlier in her career. "I did consider switching nationalities at times," Garland admitted. "But the Taipei federation has supported me financially throughout my whole career. "I wouldn't be here in this position if it wasn't for them. I do feel a strong connection with Taiwan." – AFP
Toronto Sun
3 days ago
- Sport
- Toronto Sun
Toronto teen Victoria Mboko extends perfect run to reach third round at French Open
Published May 28, 2025 • 1 minute read Canada's Victoria Mboko returns the ball to New Zealand's Lulu Sun during their first round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Sunday May 25, 2025. Photo by Christophe Ena / AP Toronto's Victoria Mboko extended her dream run at the French Open with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Germany's Eva Lys on Wednesday to reach the third round. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The 18-year-old Canadian hasn't dropped a set through five matches — including three wins in qualifying — and has now posted back-to-back main-draw victories at the tour level for the first time. She improved her season record to 42-5, with most of those wins coming on the lower-tier ITF circuit, where she's captured five titles. Ranked No. 120, Mboko will next face Olympic champion and eighth seed Qinwen Zheng of China. In men's doubles, Montreal's Gabriel Diallo and British partner Jacob Fearnley cruised into the second round with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Colombia's Nicolas Barrientos and India's Rithvik Bollipalli. Diallo is also competing in singles and will face No. 35 Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands in the second round. Fellow Canadian Denis Shapovalov, of Richmond Hill, Ont., is scheduled to face Austrian qualifier Filip Misolic in his second-round singles match on Thursday. Canada Crime Sunshine Girls Sunshine Girls Toronto Maple Leafs
National Post
3 days ago
- General
- National Post
Toronto teen Victoria Mboko extends perfect run to reach third round at French Open
Article content Toronto's Victoria Mboko extended her dream run at the French Open with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Germany's Eva Lys on Wednesday to reach the third round. Article content Article content The 18-year-old Canadian hasn't dropped a set through five matches — including three wins in qualifying — and has now posted back-to-back main-draw victories at the tour level for the first time. Article content She improved her season record to 42-5, with most of those wins coming on the lower-tier ITF circuit, where she's captured five titles. Article content Ranked No. 120, Mboko will next face Olympic champion and eighth seed Qinwen Zheng of China. Article content In men's doubles, Montreal's Gabriel Diallo and British partner Jacob Fearnley cruised into the second round with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Colombia's Nicolas Barrientos and India's Rithvik Bollipalli. Diallo is also competing in singles and will face No. 35 Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands in the second round. Article content
Hamilton Spectator
3 days ago
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
Toronto teen Mboko extends perfect run to reach third round at French Open
PARIS - Toronto's Victoria Mboko extended her dream run at the French Open with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Germany's Eva Lys on Wednesday to reach the third round. The 18-year-old Canadian hasn't dropped a set through five matches — including three wins in qualifying — and has now posted back-to-back main-draw victories at the tour level for the first time. She improved her season record to 42-5, with most of those wins coming on the lower-tier ITF circuit, where she's captured five titles. Ranked No. 120, Mboko will next face Olympic champion and eighth seed Qinwen Zheng of China. In men's doubles, Montreal's Gabriel Diallo and British partner Jacob Fearnley cruised into the second round with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Colombia's Nicolás Barrientos and India's Rithvik Bollipalli. Diallo is also competing in singles and will face No. 35 Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands in the second round. Fellow Canadian Denis Shapovalov, of Richmond Hill, Ont., is scheduled to face Austrian qualifier Filip Misolic in his second-round singles match on Thursday. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2025.
