Montreal – Less than 24 hours after her biggest win in her career, Victoria Mboko is back in ordeal.
Under the attention of coach Nathalie Tauziat, the 18-year-old Canadian freed the ground, allocated, swung and returned while sweating for about an hour in a windy, hazy state on Sunday.
Afterwards, Mboko signed the autograph along the length of the court and took selfies with fans watching the practice in the fence. After all, it is not possible to watch this buzz on the court every day.
“Even during my warm-up match before the start of the game, there were a lot of people watching my practice,” Mboko told Sportsnet’s Danielle Michaud after a Laval attack on Que on Sunday. Ange-Kevin Koua, a team member at the University of North Dakota.
“I’m not used to it. It’s new to me. It’s great that there are a lot of people coming to watch and these are the people who support me.”
Indeed, they will go all out at the IGA Stadium on Monday night and securely make the quarter-final against Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro on Mboko.
In a singles match last Friday or earlier, Mboko’s incredible run with all the other Canadians in the men’s and women’s NBOs – a stress-out that gave the tournament a huge boost.
“For me, it’s really a breakthrough,” said Guillaume Marx, vice president of high performance for tennis in Canada. “It’s certain that her world is changing. (A few months ago), she was practicing here, and she said, ‘Oh, I want to see how it looks here, the setting. Actually, I’ve never been here in the game (because she’s usually near the NBO in Toronto).’
“She is really excited. She (his game) is great. She may understand that her world is changing after the game. She will have to cope and keep moving forward and improving.”
But the first thing first – here is a tournament to attract.
World No. 51 Bouzas Maneiro is not far from Gauff’s resume, but she beat No. 9 seed Emma Navarro at this year’s French Open and beat then-poor champion Marketa Vondrousova last year at Wimbledon.
In other words, it’s not just gimme.
Mboko will be ranked 55th later this week in the first 300 years outside of the week, of course, with his 50th huge campaign against one of the top players in the sport and certainly won’t sneak into Bouzas Maneiro.
Madison Keys, the world’s No. 8, is 30, and understands the challenges Mboko faces. The American also defeated her first top ten opponents at the age of 18, defeating her then-10 opponents. 6 Li Na held in Madrid in 2013. A year later, Keys won her first career WTA Tour title. Her first Grand Slam title was at the Australian Open this year.
“I think it’s such a huge win, it changes expectations, and that certainly adds pressure,” Case said, who won the quarterfinals with a three-set win over Karolina Muchova on Sunday.
“I think people may expect more of your people. But at the same time, you’re young and there’s a lot of tennis and there’s a lot of ups and downs and a lot of falls.
“But it’s really great to look at her. I think she’s a great tennis player. I don’t think any of us are surprised that she’ll raise her own rise.”
In the Ontario tennis community, potential has been exhibited for years.
Mboko’s 2025 surge has temporarily stopped a very promising young man with a two-year injury year.
Nelson Perez Esis, the tennis director of Toronto’s top performing tennis academy, will not soon forget Mboko about seven years ago. Gracia Mboko is one of Victoria’s three older tennis siblings and a former NCAA player who was unable to compete in an inter-county league doubles game, so one Victoria’s Victoria scored a record at the Henry Farm Tennis Tennis Club in Toronto.
“She’s imitating her sister,” Perez Esis chuckled, noting that Victoria and her partner won the game.
“…Kevin (Victoria’s brother) and Victoria and Gracia are all great players.
The biggest question now is where this story goes from here. Monday’s victory will put Mboko in the top 50, with only two wins from a truly outstanding championship victory.
“Obviously, she did a good job,” Marx said. “I think she stood up for the moment. I believe she was impressed by the crowd yesterday. You rarely play in a stadium full of people cheering behind you. I believe she was impressed and she impressed her. I mean, for her confidence, it’s big.”
