Victoria Mboko prevails against Naomi Osaka in National Bank Open final, capping stunning run

Open this photo in gallery: Victoria Mboko hoists the trophy following her win over Naomi Osaka during finals tennis action at the National Bank Open in Montreal, Thursday,Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press

Victoria Mboko capped off her fairytale story at the National Bank Open Thursday night by winning the champion’s trophy.

In an unforgettable night for Canadian tennis, the country’s teen sensation beat four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the singles final to earn the first WTA title of her young career.

Throughout the 12-day event in Montreal, the 18-year-old wildcard compiled one mesmerizing win after another and vaulted up the rankings. Mboko blossomed from little known wildcard to tournament headliner and a budding household name across Canada. Her never-say-quit matches became appointment television.

The 18-year-old raised in Burlington, Ont., becomes the second-youngest player in the Open Era to defeat four Grand Slam champions in a single tournament, with her wins in Montreal over Osaka, Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff and Sofia Kenin. The only player to accomplish that at a younger age was 17-year-old Serena Williams at the 1999 US Open.

After a life-changing run, Mboko takes home US$752,275 as the NB Open champ – nearly double what she’s made in prize money in her whole career so far. She arrived in Montreal ranked No. 85 and will skyrocket into the top 25. It means the young Canadian will be seeded at the U.S. Open.

Mboko becomes the first Canadian winner of the tournament since Bianca Andreescu won it in 2019 and ended the 50-year gap without a Canadian champ that followed Faye Urban’s victory in 1969.

Just as it was for many of Mboko’s matches in Montreal, IGA Stadium was sold out for Thursday’s final, in overwhelming support for the Canadian.

It was the first-ever meeting between Mboko and Osaka, and a final matchup no one would have predicted when the tournament began. Two unseeded players had not met in the Canadian Open final since 1979.

Mboko was just the third wildcard in the Open Era to reach the final at this event, joining two former World No. 1 players — Monica Seles (1995) and Simona Halep (2015).

The 27-year-old Osaka, ranked No. 49, a former World No. 1 and a four-time Grand Slam champion who left tennis on a maternity leave in 2023, seems to be having a resurgence. This was her first WTA 1000-level final since 2022. She was looking for her first title since the 2021 Australian Open.

Mboko emerged Thursday with her wrist heavily taped after injuring it Wednesday in her semi-final match against Elena Rybakina. The Canadian suffered a couple of double faults in her first service game in the final, and Osaka got the early break.

Mboko showed her fight – like saving three break points to hold serve. But ultimately, the Japanese player broke her again and took the first set easily.

It didn’t feel like doom though, since Mboko had lost the opening set against Rybakina the night before, and charged back to win the match. In Montreal, she’d become masterful at flipping the script. Predictably, the Canadian marched out and broke Osaka right away to open the second set and wake up the crowd.

There were seven breaks of service in a wildly dramatic second set. The younger, less experienced Mboko was not playing it safe, but aggressively delivering gutsy winners down the line, and bombing serves. The crowd’s unapologetic adoration for the Canadian was ramping up as she wrestled back control. Osaka, the veteran of four Grand slams on hardcourts looked sullen and frustrated, at one point covering her ears. The impressively calm teen served for the set and won it, forcing a third.

Osaka disappeared for a fast restroom break, then jogged back onto the court.

There were three straight breaks to open the deciding set. Then the Canadian saved consecutive break points in a lengthy game to hold serve and go up 3-1, punctuated by a nice little drop shot.

The stoic youngster rollicked through the final set before the joy finally spilled out of her after the final point, as she fell to the court in celebration.

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