A new tennis star was born: in one year, outside the top 300, directly in the elite. Is only 18 years old

Victoria MBOKO, an 18-year-old tennis player, became a champion in Montreal and came to the spotlight with the victory in front of Japanese Naomi Osaka, in the final of the tournament, score 2-6, 6-4, 6-1.

Victoria MBOKO is a champion in Montreal, at 18. Photo Sky Sports

Also, at the Rogers Cup, Canadian defeated four former Grand Slam champions. During two weeks without seam, Mboko made a beautiful figure and prevailed in front of Kenin, Gauff, Rybakina and Osaka.

After returning from 0-1 to sets and saved the match in the semifinal against Elena, the kid started with the left and final, but changed the register and imposed, through the reaction speed in front of the quadruple champions of Grand Slam, final score 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, after a game that took two hours.

It wasn't even in the top 300 WTA in 2024, now in position 25

Victoria MBOKO is the third tennis player in Canada to impose on Rogers Cup, after Faye Urban (1969) and Bianca Andreescu (in 2019), also becoming the third player in history to win a WTA 1000 of the Wildcard holders. Only Maria Sharapova (Cincinnati 2011) and Bianca Andreescu (Indian Wells 2019) have achieved such performances.

In 2025, MBOKO has already gathered 53 victories (and only 9 defeats), and for Monday will take the 25th place in the WTA standings. An impressive leap, especially if we remember that at the end of last year it was not even in the top 300. Due to this success, the athlete will be among the series leaders at the US Open, the last Grand Slam of the season.

The triumph of the Rogers Cup brought to CanadaNece several important terminals, one of the most notable being the performance of becoming the second youngest player in history to get four victories in front of Grand Slam champions within the same tournament. The only one who has succeeded at a younger age is Serena Williams, who signed the same span at the US Open 1999, just 17 years and 11 months old.

Throughout history, one other player had awarded his first career title at a WTA 1000 category tournament before MBOKO. The coincidence makes it even Naomi Osaka, which Mboko defeated in the final in Montreal, writes Eurosport.

The fifth youngest champion in Canadian Open

MBOKO is the second weakest player in Open history, which wins a WTA 1000 tournament, after Kim Clijsters (133rd place in the world, when the Indian Wells 2005 conquer). Specifically, at 18 and 336 days, MBOKO enters history as the fifth youngest champion of Canadian Open. At the head of the ranking is Jennifer Capriati, whose record seems impossible to bring down: in 1991, the American raised the trophy to only 15 years and 129 days.

Performance do not stop here. MBOKO is now only the third player of all time that wins Rogers Cup after losing the first set in the final. The other two names? No more, no less than the legends Margaret Court (1970) and Martina Hingis (2000).

On the financial side, the jump is just as spectacular. So far, Victoria had collected $ 458,000 from prizes throughout her career. The victory in Montreal brought a single check of $ 752,000 – with 164% more than everything he had won until then.

“I have to take care, it hurt!”

MBOKO has decided not to participate in Cincinnati, the competition that has already debuted in Ohio, in order to focus more on the preparation for the US Open, where it will be, for the first time, the series. “I will not play in Cincinnati, I have to take care of the wrist, which hurt me in the last few days. It's far too quick to go there, I need a few days of break! ”, The champion from Montreal announced, which was known for the public in Romania in April, when he shattered Miriam Bulgaru in BJK Cup qualifications, 6-1, 6-4.