Victoria Mboko, a prodigious 18-year-old talent, recently achieved the most significant victory of her burgeoning career, delivering a stunning performance to defeat World No. 2 Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 in the fourth round of the National Bank Open in Montreal. This remarkable tennis upset has sent ripples through the WTA Montreal tournament, highlighting Mboko’s immense potential and her growing stature as a true rising star in the sport.
Mboko’s win carries considerable historical weight for Canadian tennis. She now stands as the first Canadian to advance to the quarterfinals in Montreal since Bianca Andreescu’s memorable run in 2019, further cementing her place in the nation’s sporting narrative. Moreover, she is now recognized as the youngest Canadian player ever to defeat a top-seeded opponent at the esteemed National Bank Open, a testament to her composure and skill under pressure.
Following her electrifying performance, Victoria Mboko expressed profound satisfaction with her execution. “So far, I feel really happy with how it went,” Mboko stated, acknowledging the formidable challenge posed by her opponent. “Playing Coco Gauff is obviously never easy. She’s number two in the world, and it’s been such a great opportunity for me to play against someone like her. I was just happy I kept my composure today, and I pulled it through,” she added, underscoring her mental fortitude.
From the outset, Mboko asserted her dominance, swiftly taking command of the first set. Capitalizing on Gauff’s initial lack of rhythm and unexpected flat-footedness, Mboko secured an early break for a commanding 2-0 lead. Coco Gauff, visibly struggling, committed a staggering 23 unforced errors, particularly with her forehand, as she found it challenging to convert her powerful groundstrokes into effective winners beyond the net.
The first set concluded rapidly, with Victoria Mboko securing it in just 25 minutes. Her strategic placement of shots to Gauff’s forehand at crucial junctures, such as a break point down at 2-1, provided Mboko with a decisive advantage during the make-or-break moments of the match, illustrating her tactical acumen and ability to capitalize on her opponent’s weaknesses.
While Coco Gauff displayed glimpses of improvement in the second set, successfully holding her service games and even pushing Mboko to three break points at 3-3, her unforced error count continued to be her undoing. The American conceded three consecutive unforced errors at this pivotal stage, squandering her opportunity to seize the lead and allowing Mboko to maintain her hard-fought advantage.
Comparing this match to Gauff’s previous encounters in Montreal, where she hit a higher number of unforced errors against Danielle Collins and Veronika Kudermetova, her count of six against Mboko was comparatively lower. However, despite this reduction, Gauff remained unable to find an effective strategy to counter the relentless play of the Canadian rising star, highlighting Mboko’s superior on-court control.
This impressive victory follows a previous encounter between Victoria Mboko and Coco Gauff in Rome earlier this year, a tightly contested three-set battle that Gauff ultimately won. Since that time, Mboko’s game, both in terms of playing style and mental resilience, has visibly evolved. She articulated her approach: “I kind of had flashbacks to when I played her in Rome a little bit. I wanted to step my game up a little bit more and make sure I matched whatever she was producing. I wanted to stay right there with her.”
Mboko’s trajectory has been steadily upward, marked by her WTA Tour singles main draw debut at the Miami Open, where she secured her first tour-level match win against Camila Osorio. Her journey continued at this year’s Roland Garros, reaching the third round for the first time after impressive wins over Lulu Sun and Eva Lys. Looking ahead, Mboko is set to face Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the quarterfinals, an exciting prospect for fans eager to witness the continued ascent of this Canadian rising star in the world of tennis.
