Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko capped off a remarkable week by winning the National Bank Open title in Montreal on Friday, overcoming a wrist injury and rallying from a set down to defeat former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the final.
The 18-year-old, who began 2025 ranked outside the top 300, leaps from world No. 85 to No. 25 with her first WTA Tour title. She joins Faye Urban (1969) and Bianca Andreescu (2019) as the only Canadians to lift their home trophy in the Open Era.
A pivotal moment came early in the third set when Mboko saved four break points to hold for 3-1, swinging the momentum firmly in her favour. When Osaka’s final shot found the net, the teenager dropped to her knees in disbelief before rushing to embrace her family and coaches.
“It was surreal,” Mboko said. “I never thought something like this could happen so soon. It just proves your dreams are closer than they seem.”
The final, marked by 13 breaks of serve in just 25 games, saw Mboko convert eight of her nine break points despite battling a swollen and stiff wrist. The injury, sustained in her semi-final win over Elena Rybakina, required urgent hospital scans on Thursday morning before she was cleared to play.
“I kept telling myself, ‘You have one more to go,’” she said. “It was the final, so I pushed through.”
Mboko’s path to the title included wins over four Grand Slam champions — Sofia Kenin, Coco Gauff, Rybakina, and Osaka — a run that has made her one of the breakout stars of the season.
For Osaka, it was her best result at a WTA 1000 since reaching the Miami Open final in 2022, before taking a 15-month break from the sport and welcoming her daughter Shai in July 2023.
Profile: Victoria Mboko
Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Congolese parents and raised in Toronto, Mboko was a promising junior who won her first professional singles title at the ITF W25 Saskatoon in 2022, defending it the following year. She started 2025 ranked No. 333 but quickly surged up the rankings after claiming five ITF titles in the first three months. She also qualified for her first Grand Slam main draw at Roland Garros, reaching the third round, and scored an upset win at Wimbledon.
She is coached by former world No. 3 and 1998 Wimbledon finalist Nathalie Tauziat.
