The Canadian Open, a WTA 1000 event, is Victoria Mboko’s first tour title. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
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Dropping the racquet in disbelief, collapsing to her knees with hands over her face, Victoria Mboko could hardly believe the fairytale had come true.
Fighting her way back into the match from a set down, the 18-year-old pulled off the unthinkable.
After two hours and four minutes, the local hope stunned four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 win to claim the coveted Canadian Open title.
It was her first WTA Tour title – an achievement that seemed out of reach when she entered the tournament as a wild card, having started her year ranked No. 333.
“These past two weeks have been insane,” said Mboko, who will climb to No. 34 when the rankings are updated.
“Even getting the wild card to play here… I was super happy to be playing in Montreal for the first time ever. I just remember feeling nervous, but really taking in the moment as much as I possibly could.”
Mboko Completes Dream Run
Mboko’s victory over Osaka in Thursday’s final in Montreal capped a dream run for the teenager, who also beat former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, two-time major winner Coco Gauff and former Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin during the tournament.
“When I won my first round, I was super happy and super content. I would have never thought that I would have made it to the final let alone win the tournament,” she added. “I have so many emotions going through my head, I can’t even express it.”
Local favorite Mboko is only the third Canadian champion at the Canadian Open in the Open Era after Faye Urban in 1969 and Bianca Andreescu in 2019.
The teen is also only the third wild card to win a WTA 1000 title since the format’s introduction in 2009 after Maria Sharapova (Cincinnati, 2011) and Bianca Andreescu (Indian Wells, 2019).
How Mboko Stunned Osaka
Managing a wrist injury she sustained in the semifinals, Mboko had a shaky start in the first set, committing 22 unforced errors and failing to break Osaka. But the Canadian youngster repeated the resilience she had shown all tournament, bouncing back in the second set.
Mboko broke Osaka’s serve four times in the second set and stormed to a 5-2 lead, but the former world No. 1 fought back and bridged it to 5-4. Despite opening with a double fault, Mboko closed it out when another Osaka forehand soared long.
While Mboko scored a break of Osaka’s serve in the third game of the final set, it was the fourth that ultimately proved pivotal.
In the decider, Mboko took a 3-1 lead after saving four break points in the fourth game, setting herself up for the biggest win of her career.
As the capacity crowd rose to its feet for the final time, the youngster denied Osaka of her first tour title in four years.
“I also want to thank Naomi for an incredible match. I’ve always looked up to her when I was really little, so it’s always great to play with an amazing player like you,” she said of Osaka, who last won a tour title at the 2021 Australian Open.