WTA Tour legend Martina Navratilova believes Victoria Mboko’s meteoric rise will continue at the upcoming US Open.
Victoria Mboko has been backed to make her Grand Slam breakthrough at the US Open following her remarkable rise so far in 2025.
The 18-year-old started the year at No. 333 in the WTA Rankings, but she won 22 consecutive ITF matches between January and February and, coupled with a first-ever WTA Tour-level match win at the Miami Open, she surged to No. 156 by the end of March.
Mboko then made her Grand Slam debut at Roland Garros, reaching the third round while she also made it to the second round at Wimbledon.
But bigger and better things were still to come as she enjoyed a fairytale run at her home event, the Canadian Open, after being awarded a wildcard into the main draw.
The teenager stunned 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin in the second round, top seed reigning French Open champion Coco Gauff in the fourth round and 2022 Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina in the semi-final.
She took on former world No. 1 and four-time major winner Naomi Osaka in the final and overcame a poor start to win 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 to win her first top-level singles trophy.
Having started the Montreal event at No. 85 in the rankings, she rose to a new career-high of No. 24, which resulted in an automatic entry into the US Open main draw.
With her New York ticket secured, Mboko and her team opted to skip the Cincinnati Open as she struggled with a wrist injury during the latter stages of the Canada event.
During a Sky Sports Tennis panel prediction piece, tennis legend Martina Navratilova backed the Canadian to reach the business end of the hard-court Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows.
“After Montreal, I’d say Victoria Mboko has announced her arrival loud and clear and must be considered a threat to go deep,” she stated.
However, the 18-time major singles champion also feels French Open surprise package Lois Boisson could cause some upsets at the US Open after she reached the semi-final in Paris and broke into the top 50.
Navratilova added: “Lois Boisson played great tennis on the clay at the French Open. She was an eye-opening experience and I think she can do some damage at the US Open. Her game should transfer beautifully for the hardcourts and Karolina Muchova. If she is healthy and playing well then she can beat anybody.”
Fellow pundits Marion Bartoli, Naomi Cavaday and Jonathan Overend also went with Mboko to cause a surprise with the latte stating: “Victoria Mboko – what a talent! Skipping Cincinnati means she will be fresh for Flushing Meadows.
“She’ll be able to draw on those memories from Montreal. She’s got the game and this is someone who has risen rapidly and is now ready to make her Grand Slam breakthrough.”
