As WTA action continues from Montreal, 18-year-old Victoria Mboko is looking to win her first Masters 1000 title as she continues to fly up the WTA Live Rankings.
With Mboko taking the WTA Tour by storm, here are five fast facts you need to know about the Canadian standout as she looks to win the National Bank Open.
#1: She Started This Season Ranked No. 333 in the World
While Victoria Mboko is up to No. 34 in the world on the WTA Live Rankings, she started this year ranked No. 333.
After winning the WTT W35 in Manchester, Great Britain, in February, she cracked the top 200. From there, she went on to win the WTT W75 in Portugal the following month, before an impressive run to the Round of 32 at Roland Garros, where she lost to Qinwen Zheng.
She heads into today’s match with Naomi Osaka with a year-to-date record of 46-9 per WTATennis.com.
#2: She Was Scheduled To Play An ITF Event This Week Before Landing in the National Bank Open
Throughout her short career, Victoria Mboko has won eight ITF titles, going all the way back to 2022, with five of them coming this year.
So far this year she’s won:
- W75 Porto
- W35 Manchester
- W75 Rome, GA
- W35 Petit-Bourg (Guadeloupe)
- W35 Le Lamentin (Martinique)
Prior to getting a wild card opportunity at the National Bank Open this week, she was scheduled to play another ITF event in pursuit of a sixth title.
Despite the massive stage of a Masters 1000 in her home country, Mboko rose to the occasion, defeating No. 23-seeded Sofia Kenin in the Round of 64, and No. 1-seeded Coco Gauff in the Round of 16 before her semifinal win over Elena Rybakina.
#3: She Comes From a Tennis Family
While Victoria Mboko is without a doubt the most accomplished tennis player in her family, she wasn’t the first to pick up a racquet.
According to an interview with WTATennis.com, Victoria Mboko’s older sister Gracia and her oldest brother Kevin played collegiate tennis. Additionally, her other brother David played as well, which led to her picking up a racquet at just three years old.
As her Dad explained in an interview with OnTennis Magazine, before moving to the US and eventually settling in Canada, he used to watch the Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, and Steffi Graf era of tennis back in the Congo.
#4: She’s Coached by a Former Wimbledon Finalist
Mboko’s coach is none other than former Wimbledon finalist Nathalie Tauziat, who reached a career high singles ranking of No. 3 in the world back in 2000, and a career high doubles ranking of No. 3 in 2001.
Throughout her career, which spanned nearly a full two decades, Tauziat found success in singles and doubles, with five semifinal appearances and a US Open Finals appearance in doubles.
As Mboko continues her climb up the WTA ladder, Tauziat knows firsthand the challenges she’ll face.
During a recent interview with SportsNet she explained:
“There are tons of women who climb really high, but (then) struggled (and) don’t succeed in maintaining that level … Because when we succeed, we earn more money, more people are around us, life changes. Life changes and that’s normal, but you have to manage that to maintain the (composure) that she has today.”
#5: She Reached a High of No. 6 in Juniors
Before transitioning to the WTA Tour, Victoria Mboko found success competing in juniors, posting a 73% win rate per ITFTennis.com.
After ending 2021 as the year-end No. 32 on the ITF Juniors circuit, she then wound up finishing 2022 ranked No. 6.
On top of notably winning five juniors titles, four on hard court and one on clay, she reached the finals of both the 2022 Australian Open and Wimbledon in doubles.
Victoria Mboko: 5 Fast Facts About 18-Year-Old Montreal Finalist