Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko will be “the talk of the US Open” following her stunning Canadian Open triumph, according to former British tennis player Annabel Croft.
Mboko took the tennis world by storm in Montreal, beating former world No 1 Naomi Osaka in the final, having already toppled fellow Grand Slam champions Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff – the top seed – and Sofia Kenin in earlier rounds.
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Watch highlights of the match between Coco Gauff and Victoria Mboko at the National Bank Open in Montreal.
The 18-year-old Mboko started the year outside the top 300, but is projected to jump from 85th to 24th in the world and is set to be seeded at Flushing Meadows for the final Grand Slam of the year, live on Sky Sports from August 24.
“I think she will be the talk of the US Open, for sure,” said Sky Sports Tennis pundit Croft.
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The National Bank Open men’s final between Ben Shelton and Karen Khachanov was halted when Canadian fans celebrated Victoria Mboko’s win over Naomi Osaka in the women’s final.
“You always need those storylines going into a slam and there’s no way that she’s not one of the stories.
“She’s earned that right to be talked about, which in itself creates pressure on the opposition because you feel like she has an aura – and she does have an aura.
“It’s exciting but equally it does also create pressure for her, which she’ll have to handle and which will be new territory for her.
“But, no question, this is a springboard for her.”
Who is Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko?
Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Congolese parents, but grew up in Toronto.
Won her first professional singles title at the ITF W25 tournament in Saskatoon in 2022, which she successfully defended in 2023.
Won four consecutive ITF World Tennis Tour events to begin 2025, adding a fifth in March. In second place for most ITF World Tennis Tour women’s singles titles won this year.
Began 2025 ranked at No 333, but now projected to be No 24 when the rankings are updated on Monday following her victory in Montreal.
Qualified for her first Grand Slam main draw at the French Open, where she reached the third round
Coached by former world No 3 and 1998 Wimbledon finalist Nathalie Tauziat.
Croft saw Mboko’s considerable talent first hand when actually losing in qualifying at Wimbledon, before she ultimately earned a lucky loser spot and upset 25th seed Magdalena Frech in the first round.
“She had match points and she lost and I was just impressed with her whole attitude on the court,” Croft said. “She played beautifully and was so unlucky not to win that match.
“I have been even more impressed with how she rebounded after such a painful defeat and got into Wimbledon as a lucky loser, which I was so thrilled to see and now look what she’s doing so quickly.”
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Victoria Mboko made her first appearance at Wimbledon this summer, appearing in only her second Grand Slam main draw
Croft also believes Mboko is benefitting greatly from her choice of coach, former world No 3 and 1998 Wimbledon finalist Nathalie Tauziat.
“She’s got a very good coach, who actually I was on the tour with, in Nathalie Tauziat,” Croft said.
“Mboko’s very brave, smart and she backs herself. She goes for her shots, but I also read an article where she was talking about how Tauziat was a very creative artist, served and volleyed, had slices and did many different things.
“She said she was trying to equip her with other things like that which she might need to draw upon in matches. So you can hear by the way that she’s talking, that she’s very intelligent about the way she goes about her business and is not one-dimensional.
“She strikes me already, at such a young age, as being very astute and aware of what might be required.”
‘Emergence of a new superstar in Mboko’
Sky Sports Tennis commentator Jonathan Overend:
“What a story, something that has really captured the imagination of the world outside of tennis, with the emergence of a new potential superstar.
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Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko took the tennis world by storm by clinching her national title in Montreal
“This is an 18-year-old wild card who has just won a top-tier tournament, at home in Canada, and by beating a four-time Grand Slam champion in the final. Such an exciting performance.
“She came back from a set down three times over the course of the event and in both of the last two rounds. She also beat four Grand Slam champions in total across the draw – Osaka, Rybakina, Gauff and Kenin.
“These things do not happen every day, so let’s revel in it. What an achievement!
“She’s got patience, she’s got resilience, she is so good off both wings and moves so impressively. And she is so mature.”
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