Victoria Mboko’s Montreal Magic: The Canadian Teen Who Toppled Four Grand Slam Champions

Canada was still catching its corporate activity from Summer McIntosh’s record-breaking swims erstwhile 18-year-old Victoria Mboko grabbed nan spotlight astatine nan National Bank Open and ne'er fto go.

In beforehand of a sold-out crowd successful Montreal, nan 85th-ranked Canadian wildcard vanished her Cinderella title tally connected Thursday nighttime by beating erstwhile world No 1 Naomi Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 to triumph her first WTA Tour title. Prolonged cheers for Mboko interrupted play 30 minutes into the men’s final being played concurrently 330 miles westbound successful her hometown of Toronto.

“I conjecture nan Canadian subordinate won successful Montreal,” chair umpire Fergus Murphy explained to nan confused players.

That’s nan Mboko effect.

With wins complete four-time expansive slam champion Osaka, reigning Roland Garros champion and world No 2 Coco Gauff, 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, and 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, Mboko became conscionable nan 3rd teen successful nan unfastened era to oust 4 awesome champions astatine a WTA event. She’s nan youngest since Serena Williams ran nan array to triumph nan 1999 US Open.

If you find yourself successful a “first since” aliases “youngest since” Serena stat, you cognize you’ve done thing special.

“I deliberation my biggest takeaway is nan sky’s nan limit,” Mboko told nan Guardian aft nan win. “I ne'er would person thought I would triumph a WTA 1000 truthful soon, that this would beryllium my first WTA title, too.”

Mboko started nan twelvemonth classed extracurricular nan apical 300 and proceeded to triumph nan first 20 matches she played, each successful consecutive sets, and sweeping up 5 ITF titles successful nan first 3 months of nan season. The bulk of her wins came astatine master tennis’ insignificant convention equivalent, but that agelong of play showed what Mboko could do if she sewage connected a roll.

Maya Joint is simply a 19-year-old Australian who has already won 2 WTA titles successful her breakout season. Along pinch Mboko and No 5 Mirra Andreeva, nan trio are nan only teenagers successful nan WTA’s apical 90.

“Winning titles gives you a batch of assurance that you tin do it,” Joint told nan Guardian, “that you tin triumph that galore matches successful a statement and enactment focused for that long.”

Victoria Mboko’s dream tally connected location ungraded took Montreal by storm. Photograph: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

Mboko’s crippled has proven to beryllium a difficult Rubik’s Cube to solve, moreover for nan game’s best. It is arsenic intelligent arsenic it is physical, a potent blend of powerfulness and discipline. She tin overwhelm her opponents pinch powerfulness aliases usage her velocity and defense to trap them into errors. The choice, connected immoderate fixed day, is hers.

“She’s very athletic,” said top-seeded Gauff aft Mboko handed her a 6-1, 6-4 exit successful nan information of 16. “She’s a awesome shot striker, and she seems beautiful affirmative retired location connected nan court, doesn’t get really excessively negative.”

“I don’t cognize her excessively well, but I’ve gotten to talk to her a small spot complete nan people since Rome. I deliberation she has a awesome support strategy astir her, and I deliberation that’s important erstwhile you’re young and connected tour.”

Mboko’s coach Nathalie Tauziat watched from nan sidelines arsenic her complaint learned successful existent clip really to compete and negociate stress. So agelong arsenic she kept her head, Tauziat told her, nan talented teen was ever successful pinch a shot. Montreal proved to beryllium her showcase. Her triumph complete Osaka was her 3rd come-from-behind triumph of nan tournament. In nan semi-finals, she saved a lucifer constituent to stun No 3 seed Rybakina successful a third-set tiebreak.

“In nan opening of nan twelvemonth erstwhile I was winning a batch of matches and tournaments, I conscionable had a batch of assurance successful myself, to beryllium honest,” Mboko said. “I don’t cognize wherever that assurance came from, possibly it was conscionable self-belief. I tried to transportation that momentum arsenic overmuch arsenic I perchance could.”

Mboko’s parents, Cyprien Mboko and Godee Kitadi, fled nan Democratic Republic of Congo owed to nan governmental turmoil successful 1999 and emigrated to nan United States. Victoria was calved successful Charlotte, North Carolina, earlier nan family relocated to Toronto. Her older siblings each played tennis, pinch her sister Gracia and relative Kevin being bully capable to play astatine nan collegiate level.

She spent her summers moving astir nan grounds astatine nan National Bank Open chasing autographs and photos pinch her favourite players for illustration Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils. She moreover has a photograph of herself astatine 8 years aged holding a replica of nan trophy.

Victoria Mboko celebrates aft winning nan 2nd group complete Elena Rybakina connected Wednesday successful nan Montreal semi-finals. Photograph: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

Ten years on, she’s nary longer a pretender. Hours aft nan trophy ceremony, Mboko still couldn’t judge she had her hands connected nan existent thing. She will time off Montreal arsenic 1 of nan 25 champion players connected nan WTA Tour, classed astatine an astonishing No 24.

When asked whether she feels for illustration 1 of nan 25 champion players successful nan world, Mboko’s humility kicked in.

“I don’t deliberation I could opportunity yes to that, to beryllium honest,” she said. “It happens, and I honestly deliberation everything’s been happening truthful accelerated that I don’t really person clip to process it, fto unsocial look astatine nan rankings.

“I consciousness for illustration erstwhile I settee down a small spot and benignant of recognize what has conscionable happened, truthful galore things will alteration and I’ll person a different position going forward.”

That position now shifts to nan US Open, a tourney that has been very bully to nan Canadians. In 2019, a 19-year-old Bianca Andreescu became Canada’s first expansive slam singles champion there. Two years later, Leylah Annie Fernandez stormed into nan final. Could Mboko travel their well-worn path? She surely isn’t ruling it out.

“When I started playing connected nan WTA Tour, I ne'er thought successful my caput if I belonged aliases not because I conscionable thought, a lucifer is conscionable a match,” Mboko said.

“I ever knew everyone was really good, but I felt that astatine nan extremity of nan day, thing is possible.”