Eighteen-year-old Victoria Mboko claimed her first Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) title on Thursday, August 7, 2025, defeating four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, in the Canadian Open final at Montreal.
The wild card entrant became only the third Canadian in the Open Era to win the tournament, after Faye Urban (1969) and Bianca Andreescu (2019), reported CNN.
Mboko, who began the year ranked No 333, is set to rise to No 34 after defeating four former Grand Slam winners: Osaka, Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff and Sofia Kenin.
In her semifinal, she saved a match point and overcame a wrist injury to beat Rybakina 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(4). She is the first Canadian to defeat three Grand Slam champions in a single WTA event, in the Open Era.
Born on August 26, 2006, in North Carolina to Congolese parents, Mboko was raised in Toronto, and began playing at age three.
She previously reached the Parma Open final in May. Known for her powerful game, and composure under pressure, she credited her family’s support for her success.
Former US Open champion Sloane Stephens believes Mboko has the potential to become a Grand Slam champion and world No 1.
