Canada’s Victoria, 18, shocks four-time Grand Slam-winner Naomi Osaka to clinch maiden WTA title; giant-killing teen says this is the stuff of dreams
Victoria Mboko with the Canadian Open winner’s trophy on Thursday. Pic/Getty Images
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko conquered four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 on Thursday, capping a fairytale run at the WTA Canadian Open with a maiden Tour title. Mboko, 18 and playing in her first WTA final, denied Osaka her first tour-level title since the 2021 Australian Open, wearing down the Japanese star, 27, who has struggled to find consistency since returning from maternity leave early in 2024.
Before an ecstatic center-court crowd of 11,000, she converted eight of her nine break points, seizing her fourth win of the week over a Grand Slam winner. She ousted former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the second round and toppled reigning French Open champion Coco Gauff in the fourth before saving a match point en route to a semi-final victory over former Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina.
“It feels unbelievable right now. Words cannot really describe how the day went. I think it just proves that your dreams are closer than you think they are. It was kind of a surreal experience,” an ecstatic Mboko said. Displaying vintage power and precision, Osaka gave her inexperienced opponent little room to manoeuvre in the first set, gaining an early break on the way to a 3-0 lead and pocketing the set when Mboko, who had 22 unforced errors in the set, misfired on two forehands to drop her serve a second time.
However, Mboko turned the tide in a second set. The Canadian broke Osaka at love for a 5-2 lead. Serving for the set, however, Mboko coughed up three double faults and was broken. Osaka capitalised on the reprieve with a hold at love, but Mboko took the set in the next game when Osaka’s hit one long on set point.
Osaka was on the ropes again in the third game, drawing a warning for batting a ball skyward in frustration after missing her first serve on break point. That launched a run of five straight games for Mboko. The Canadian then saved four break points to hold for a 3-1 lead, which ultimately proved a mountain too steep to climb for Osaka.
Who is Victoria Mboko?
>> Born in North Carolina (US) to parents who immigrated from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Family then moved to Toronto when Victoria was two-months old.
>> Took to playing tennis after watching her siblings, who played at college level, and eventually joined Players Edge Academy in Toronto to improve her game and realise her dream of turning Pro.
>> Claimed her first Pro title at the age of 15 in an ITF 25 event at Saskatoon, in northern Canada
>> In 2023, she emerged as the runner-up in the junior Grand Slam doubles finals at the Australian Open as well as Wimbledon
Mboko’s giant-killing spree in Canada
Second Round
Swept aside former Australian Open Champion (2020) Sofia Kenin of United States 6-2, 6-3
Fourth Round
Thrashed reigning French Open champ Coco Gauff of USA 6-1, 6-4
Semi-Final
Rallied past former Wimbledon champion (2022) Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-4)
Final
Stunned two-time Australian Open and two-time US Open winner Naomi Osaka 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
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