Who is Victoria Mboko, the rising Canadian tennis star taking on the U.S. Open?

Open this photo in gallery: After winning the National Bank Open women's singles title in Montreal, Victoria Mboko is heading to the U.S. open to continue her stunning ascent.David Kirouac/Reuters

Canadian teen Victoria Mboko captivated tennis – and the country – when she defeated Naomi Osaka to win the National Bank Open women’s singles title earlier this month, and now she’s looking to continue her meteoric rise at her first U.S. Open.

The 18-year-old went from wildcard to household name as she beat four Grand Slam champions in a stunning run in Montreal. She is Canada’s first tournament champion since Bianca Andreescu ended this country’s 50-year drought in 2019.

Tennis world hails Victoria Mboko’s meteoric rise

Now, the highest-ranked Canadian woman in tennis, Mboko’s first World Tennis Association tournament title has secured her a spot in the Grand Slam’s main draw, where she’s hoping to keep her winning streak going.

Here’s everything you need to know about Mboko as she prepares for her debut in the U.S. Open’s main draw.

Who is Victoria Mboko?

Victoria Mboko beat four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka at the National Bank Open in Montreal. The Canadian Press

Victoria “Vicky” Mboko was born in Charlotte, N.C., to parents who fled political turmoil in the Democratic Republic of Congo. When she was two months old, the family moved to Toronto, where Mboko and her three older siblings – who all played tennis as well – grew up watching the sport at Sobeys Stadium.

Mboko, who will turn 19 during the U.S. Open on Aug. 26, began playing tennis at age 4 and started competing at an early age, but one early victory had a lasting impact on her career. In 2014 she won The Champions Under-10 tournament at age 7, giving her a $6,000 prize that went toward her coaching. After her first International Tennis Federation pro tournament win in 2022, she personally thanked the man whose donation made it possible.

Opinion: For my father, Victoria Mboko's victory is a decade-long tennis dream come true

“Your contribution to the tennis fund for Tennis Ontario ... opened the door for myself to work with a private coach to further develop my tennis,” Mboko wrote to Murray Rubin. “My main focus is now to compete primarily in the professional pro tournaments to get my pro ranking up and one day become world No. 1 and win Grand Slams.”

That same year, agents came calling as she rose to prominence in juniors and made two Grand Slam junior doubles finals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

Mboko has blossomed on the pro circuit this season, and has sped through the lower rungs that take most young players years. In January and February, she won four ITF titles, securing 22 consecutive match victories without dropping a set, before she made her WTA-1000 singles main draw debut at the Miami Open in March. Mboko also made the third round at the French Open and won a match at Wimbledon this year.

Who are Victoria Mboko’s coaches?

After training much of last year at the Justine Henin Academy in Belgium, Mboko wanted to return home, and has been coached by Nathalie Tauziat and Noëlle van Lottum since November, 2024. Tauziat is a French former player who reached No. 3 in both singles and doubles play, and also formerly coached Andreescu. A Dutch-French former player and coach, van Lottum has been working as the head women’s national coach for Tennis Canada in Montreal since 2023.

What is Mboko’s WTA ranking?

Open this photo in gallery: Mboko kisses the National Bank Open trophy on Aug. 7.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press

Mboko’s ranking soared from No. 85 to No. 24 in the WTA Rankings after her National Bank Open victory, an incredible ascent from No. 333 where she started the season. She is Canada’s highest-ranked woman, having leapfrogged No. 33 Leylah Fernandez.

Her victory also made her the youngest player in the Open Era to defeat four Grand Slam champions in a single tournament – Osaka, Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff and Sofia Kenin – since 17-year-old Serena Williams did it at the 1999 U.S. Open.

Victoria Mboko tries to stay grounded as her career takes off

But Mboko says she is trying not to let the fact she won a WTA Masters 1000-level tournament – one rung below a Grand Slam – or the rising expectations get to her.

“I don’t like to put pressure or set goals for myself, because anything can happen, and I’m okay with it. That’s sports,” she told The Globe after her win in Montreal. “My goals are kind of the same. I just want to play the best I can every time I play. Every tournament, I’m always going to be in it to win it.”

When does the U.S. Open start and where is it?

Open this photo in gallery: The U.S. Open takes place at Flushing Meadows in the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre in Queens, N.Y., one of the sport's most iconic venues.Yuki Iwamura/The Associated Press

The U.S. Open main draw begins on Sunday, Aug. 24, with the first round of women’s and men’s singles matches. It is set to end with the women’s final on Saturday, Sept. 6, and the men’s on Sunday, Sept. 7.

The Grand Slam tournament takes place at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, one of the most iconic tennis venues in the world, located in Queens, N.Y.

What is Mboko’s schedule at the U.S. Open?

Light fixtures on the USTA courts in Flushing Meadows are designed to cut light pollution. The stadium complex is the only professional sports venue certified by DarkSky International, a group trying to preserve the night sky across the globe. The Associated Press

Thanks to her victory in Montreal, Mboko’s ranking has earned her a spot as one of the 32 seeded players in the Grand Slam’s main draw, and she did not need to play any qualifying matches.

Mboko has been seeded at No. 22 and will face Barbora Krejčíková of the Czech Republic in the first round on Sunday at 11 a.m.

“I don’t really view the competition as any different now, because I know every single player in the top 100 is really talented,” Mboko told The Globe on Aug. 11. “But [the NBO win] definitely brings a lot of ease to my draw, because I don’t have to play [qualifiers], and I could play slightly later.”

The Montreal victory also gives her extra time to rest her body, including a wrist she injured during her semi-final win over Elena Rybakina and later aggravated during the final win against Osaka.

Which other Canadian players are in the U.S. Open?

The U.S. Open is shaping up to be a thrilling tournament with 19 individual Grand Slam champions and five Canadians already seeded in the men’s and women’s singles main draws.

Alongside Mboko, Leylah Fernandez is the only other Canadian woman seeded in the main draw at No. 31, and will face qualifying player Yulia Putintseva in the first round. Rebecca Marino is still fighting in qualifiers for a spot in the main draw, while fellow Canadians Cadence Brace, Carson Branstine, Marina Stakusic and Carol Zhao fell in the qualifiers.

Open this photo in gallery: Leylah Fernandez is the only other Canadian woman seeded in the U.S. Open main draw.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press

In the men’s singles draw, there are three Canadians seeded: Félix Auger-Aliassime (No. 25), Dennis Shapovalov (No. 27) and Gabriel Diallo (No. 31). Diallo will face Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Sunday at 11 a.m., while Shapovalov takes on Márton Fucsovics of Hungary, also at 11 a.m. Sunday. Compatriot Liam Draxl vied for a spot in the qualifying round but fell to France’s Kyrian Jacquet.

Among the former Grand Slam champions competing are reigning U.S. Open singles champs and world No. 1s Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, who will be looking to defend their titles from a field of fierce challengers, including No. 2s Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Świątek. American tennis legend Venus Williams, a former U.S. Open champ, is also returning to the tournament as a wildcard.

How much money did Mboko win at the National Bank Open?

After a life-changing run, Mboko took home US$752,275 at the National Bank Open – nearly double what she’s made in prize money in her whole career so far. According to the WTA, the prize brings her total winnings to $1,195,240, and she is guaranteed at least another US$110,000 for making it into the main draw of the U.S. Open.

Mboko couldn’t think of anything she’d like to buy with the money when asked by The Globe after her NBO win. But she said she treated herself to extra time with her family and friends in Montreal before she made the six-hour drive back to Toronto with her parents and sister.

Open this photo in gallery: Mboko throws out the ceremonial first pitch before the Toronto Blue Jays play the Texas Rangers earlier this month.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press

What makes Mboko such a good tennis player?

Mboko’s commanding and powerful play, strength and ball-striking began drawing attention several years ago, but the teen’s resilience and maturity at such a young age have also set her apart.

“What makes [Mboko] special is obviously the power that she can generate from the serve and from the baseline. I believe she has an exceptional backhand, like way above normal,” Guillaume Marx, Tennis Canada’s vice-president of high performance, told The Globe earlier this summer, “and then she has the mentality, the belief.”

In Montreal, Mboko was lauded for her mental toughness, as she beat players with more experience, rebounded after losing the first set of matches, fought back in games that looked lost and battled through pain in her wrist.

“In terms of the champions that we see in tennis and in any sport, it always feels like there’s something special about them, and it needs to be in you. And I think she has that in her, and ... we can see that right now, just by how composed she is,” said tournament director Valerie Tétreault.

According to Mboko, she gets it from her “very calm” father. “He’s a very relaxed person, so yeah, I think I take from him a little bit,” she said.

With reports from Rachel Brady

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