The magical run continues for Victoria Mboko.
The 18-year-old entered the 2025 Canadian Open, branded as the National Bank Open, as an unranked wild card entry around 10 days ago.
In fact, a lot of Canadian tennis fans had likely never heard her name before.
That changed as she roared into the quarterfinals of the tournament with a win over American Coco Gauff, the tournament’s top seed, in the fourth round.
She didn’t just beat the two-time Grand Slam winner and current French Open champion, she demolished her 6-1, 6-4, in just 62 minutes.
Four days later, Mboko is off to the finals after another landmark win over No. 9-seeded Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, in a very memorable semifinal match.
Comeback complete for the wild card. Victoria Mboko is heading to the finals! ✨ pic.twitter.com/IX0aCquFSj
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 7, 2025
She fell quickly in the opening set, but countered with a 7-5 win in the second to force a third and final set.
The third set was nothing short of gutsy for Mboko, who needed a medical timeout to address a wrist injury after taking an awkward tumble while leading 2-1.
Once her wrist was taped, she fought through the pain and managed a pair of key breaks to force a tiebreaker.
Fueled by the electric atmosphere in Montreal, Mboko finished off Rybakina in the tiebreak and dropped to the ground as the sold-out crowd erupted on IGA Stadium’s centre court.
Match point for Victoria Mboko. What a moment! 🥹🇨🇦#OBN25 | @OBNmontreal pic.twitter.com/Q5RZuugsMY
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) August 7, 2025
She’s just the fourth Canadian woman to reach the final at the Canadian Open and will look to become the first Canadian woman to win the title since Bianca Andreescu in 2019.
After beginning the season outside the top 300, Mboko will move up to at least 34th in the world rankings with tonight’s victory.
She could move into the top 25 if she wins her first WTA title on home soil on Thursday, a feat that seemed unfathomable a few days ago.
Mboko will play the winner of tonight’s second semifinal between Naomi Osaka and Clara Tauson in Thursday’s final, which will begin at 3 pm PT on Sportsnet.
