Canada’s Victoria Mboko advances to quarterfinals at Adelaide International
Victoria Mboko is ready to complete the race in 2026.
All four of the Canadians’ singles matches this season have gone to the third and final set, with Mboko victorious in three of them.
Mboko’s most recent win was a 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (8) victory over world No. 33 Anna Kalinskaya of Russia in the second round of the Adelaide International on Tuesday.
The 19-year-old Mboko, ranked 17th, is one of only two teenagers to enter the top 25 after being named the WTA Rookie of the Year last season.
“Most of the time, they’re older than me,” she said of her opponents, according to the WTA. “I feel like I always have to step up my game and try to be consistent with the older girls and try to match their speed and power. No matter how many points you have to defend, you can always make up for it the other week, so I don’t think too much about it.”
Eighth seed Mboko has advanced to the quarterfinals, where she will face the winner between second seed and defending Australian Open champion Madison Keys of the United States and Czech qualifier Theresa Valentova.
Tuesday wasn’t such a pleasant day for other Canadians in the Australian Open warm-up tournament.
Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., lost to Russia’s Diana Shnaider 7-5, 6-3 in the first round.
In the men’s first round, Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo lost to Italian qualifier Andrea Vavasoli 6-3, 7-6 (4).
Australian Open Qualifying Tournament
Canada’s Liam Draxell advanced to the second round in qualifying for his first Grand Slam tournament of the season.
The 20th-seeded team in the qualifying draw defeated Australia’s Moelani Butzig 7-6(3), 6-3 on Tuesday.
Canadian player Carson Branstine also defeated Australian player Astra Sharma 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3 to advance to the second round of the women’s group.
Draxl, Branstein and Canada’s Marina Starcusic will all compete in the second round on Wednesday.
Players need to win three qualifying matches to guarantee a spot in the main draw, which begins on Sunday.
