“[I] Just needed to be more confident in myself.” That’s what Victoria Mboko told the WTA to summarize the key to her meteoric rise.
And it’s safe to say Mboko’s confidence has made her into a future great.
The Torontonian’s shining moment was her historic triumph on home soil for the biggest title of her career so far, but that was just the piéce de résistance of her rise from the ITF World Tennis Tour to the WTA spotlight.
Mboko may be just a few years into her professional career, but there is already so much to the 18-year-old’s road to becoming the Canadian No. 1.
2022-2023
Mboko shared some of her earliest accomplishments with fellow Canadian Kayla Cross in doubles. The all-Ontarian duo reached two junior Grand Slam finals in 2022, battling for the title at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. Mboko then made her WTA doubles main-draw debut alongside Cross at the National Bank Open in August.
That same year, Mboko made her singles breakthrough on home soil. At just 15-years-old, the Canadian won her first ITF title at the Saskatoon Challenger in July. She successfully defended her crown in 2023.
2025
Marking the beginning of her phenomenal rise, Mboko surged through the WTA rankings in a matter of months. The Torontonian had a shiny start to 2025, winning four-straight ITF titles as part of her 22-match win streak, a record for a Canadian woman, without dropping a set.
Mboko’s ITF dominance led to the Miami Open awarding her a wildcard for her maiden WTA 1000 main draw in March. The jump to the main tour didn’t slow down the confident Canadian as she defeated Camila Osorio for her first tour-level win.
Just like that, Mboko’s world No. 333 ranking to begin the year was virtually cut in half as the Canadian sat at a career-high 156th after Miami.
Before long, Mboko was winning matches on the Grand Slam stage. At Roland-Garros, the 18-year-old cruised from qualifying to the last 32, sealing her first five matches in straight sets with main-draw wins over Top 100 players Lulu Sun and Eva Lys.
A month later, Mboko didn’t let her fortunes go to waste at the All-England Club, making her Wimbledon debut as a lucky loser and beating Magdalena Frech in the opening round for her first Top 25 victory.
Mboko sat inside the Top 100 heading into the North American hard-court swing and the Canuck’s confidence was only amplified on home soil.
The Canadian wildcard beat three former major champions, including world No. 2 Coco Gauff and No. 12 Elena Rybakina, on her path to the final in Montreal. Battling for the title, Mboko rallied from a set down to defeat another Grand Slam titlist in Naomi Osaka to complete the historic run.
The 18-year-old from Toronto was a WTA 1000 champion in just her seventh tour-level main draw, jumping to 25th in the rankings and becoming the new Canadian No. 1.
Read also: Mboko Finding Comfort Amidst Life-Changing Success Thanks to Coaching Team
Mboko hit a career-high of No. 23 before the end of August and, at just 19-years-old, she is right in the mix with the world’s best as she looks to add more big-event titles to her name.
Feature Photo: Mathieu Belanger
