Looks like rising star Victoria Mboko will rewrite the tennis history book, as she secured a spot at the WTA Tour semi-final after defeating Jessica Bouzas Maneiro at the National Bank Open in Montreal.
Making her the first Canadian to reach the WTA 1000 event’s semi-finals since Bianca Andreescu’s title run in 2019. She’s also the youngest woman to reach the semis since Belinda Bencic’s 2015 win in Toronto.
Mboko struggled in the first set with faults, she tried her best to find her feet and hit those serves. Slowly but surely, she broke her opponent in the fourth and sixth round to take a 4-2 advantage.
Proving no matter what happens next, the 18-year-old is making her career mark in this tournament, she has claimed wins against 79th-ranked Kimberly Birrell, No 23 seed Sofia Kenin, 39th-ranked Marie Bouzkova, and Coco Gauff.
After her match, the crowd sang in French, chanting “it’s not over”, asked about that during her post-match interview, Mboko said: “Yeah I know, it’s not over. I am so excited to be in the semi-final here and I would like to thank everyone for your support once again”.
“I train in this tennis court so it’s always a great opportunity to be here and to play in front of a Canadian crowd”.
Mboko started the year ranked 333rd in the world and is set to move up into the top 50 when the rankings are released next week.
Opening the season with a 22-match winning streak and securing five titles on the lower-tier ITF Tour, she showcased herself in the WTA Tour in March this year.
Mboko will now face Elena Rybakina. This will be the second time both opponents have played against each other. The last time they met Rybakina defeated Mboko by 6-3, 7-5 at the Citi Open.
