A Star Is Born In Montreal
VICTORIA MBOKO VICTORIOUS At the National Bank Open
Credit: Christopher Katsarov
Against all odds, Victoria Mboko has made Canadian Tennis History in Montréal. The 18-year-old Canadian battled through adversity –and a wrist injury– to claim the National Bank Open title on Thursday night, defeating four-time Grand Slam Champion Naomi Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1.
Although there were no sprains or fractures in her wrist shown on the MRI taken on the morning of the final, Mboko entered the championship match with the right wrist heavily taped following a fall in her semi-final match against Elena Rybakina. Although it may have hindered Mboko’s serving abilities in that final match against Osaka, it didn’t stop her from becoming a champion for the first time on the WTA Tour in jubilant fashion.
Who is Vicky Mboko?
Victoria Mboko first picked up a tennis racket at the age of three, inspired by her three siblings.
The youngest of the family, Mboko was born in North Carolina on August 26, 2006 after her parents emigrated from the Democratic Republic of Congo in the late 1990s. Her parents moved to Burlington, Ontario when Mboko was a young child.
Fast forward to today, and Mboko’s story has now come full-circle. Growing up she idolized legends of the game such as Serena Williams and attended the National Bank Open in Toronto every year with her two older brothers and sister. From falling in love with the sport, to attending the event annually, to now winning the event in-front of thousands of spectators and her family – Mboko’s rise to becoming a Masters 1000 Open Champion is truly special.
Mboko’s 2025 Season
Mboko began the year ranked No.333 in the world – and it’s been a meteoric rise ever since.
She started the 2025 season by winning four straight titles on the ITF: Three 35k events and one 75k event in rapid succession. A few title runs in which the young Canadian didn’t even drop a set. She added another 75k title in early March in Porto, Portugal; that being another 75k title – making that five titles in just two months into the new year.
That dominant success didn’t go unnoticed. Mboko was then granted a main draw wild card at the WTA 1000 Miami Open Masters in late March.
It didn’t take long for Mboko to have an immediate impact at the professional level: as she then went on to win her first-ever WTA Tour-level match in round one, and proceed to give the former world No. 2 and tenth seeded player in the tournament Paula Badosa a tough task pushing that match to three sets–nearly pulling off the upset.
That early breakthrough in Mboko’s career sparked an impressive stretch of results for the 18 year old, appearing in a lower-tiered WTA 125 final, a second-round in Rome and at Wimbledon, and also a third-round appearance at Roland Garros–all leading up to her historic week in Montréal.
Mboko, overseen by her two coaches Nathalie Tauziat and Noëlle Van Lottum, who have been guiding Mboko since November 2024. Tauziat, a former Wimbledon finalist in 1998, has ties to Tennis Canada having previously worked with Leylah Fernandez. She also had been a part of the coaching team that guided Canada to its first-ever Billie Jean King Cup title in 2023. Van Lottum, meanwhile, has served as the Head of Women’s Tennis for Tennis Canada since August 2023. It’s safe to say this coaching team is just getting started.
Mboko Makes History
Mboko rewrote the history books all week in Montréal. Mboko became the youngest Canadian –male or female– to reach the finals at the tournament. She’s also only the third Canadian ever, and the youngest, to win the National Bank Open –and the first to do so in Montréal. After Bianca Andreescu (2019) and Faye Urban (1969), did it in Toronto.
Another impressive feat: Mboko became the second-youngest female player ever –behind only her idol Serena Williams– to defeat four former Grand Slam Champions at a single event. Those champions include Americans Sofia Kenin and Coco Gauff, Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina and of course, Japan’s Naomi Osaka.
Victoria Mboko came into the tournament ranked No.85 in the world. After her stunning title run, she climbs a massive 50 spots to world No.25 after the title win and will now be seeded at the US Open later this month. There will be a target on her back, for sure, bigger than it’s ever been before.
Just a year ago, she was playing in Challenger events in Croatia with little to no media coverage.
Now, she’s earning prize money that surpasses her entire career total to date.
And she’s become Canada’s No. 1 ranked player—male or female.
There is no denying it any longer: Victoria Mboko is no longer just the future of Canadian Tennis.
She’s the now on the WTA Tour.
The Slice is throwing a Canadian Tennis Party in New York to kick off the US Open and celebrate Vicky Mboko’s historic win!
Get your tickets now to save your spot, and join us in the big apple August 23rd.
