Canadian tennis star reflects on rapid rise to world No.18 ahead of Australian Open
Canada play their first-round match against China on Sunday night, when Mboko and Felix Auger-Aliassime take on Lin Zhu and Zhizhen Zhang.
Mboko’s breakout tournament came at the Masters 1000 event in Montreal last July.
Victoria Mboko after defeating Naomi Osaka to win the Masters 1000 event in Montreal last year.Credit: Getty Images
The then-18-year-old was given a wildcard entry, then defeated grand slam winners Sofia Kenin, Gauff, Rybakina and Naomi Osaka to lift the trophy.
“It was amazing,” Mboko said. “Honestly, those two weeks were such a blur for me, but it was honestly just incredible to see how many people were able to support me and just be so behind me.
“I’ve never had that many people cheer for me. Overall, it’s an experience that I can look back on and be happy that it happened.”
After a year that exceeded all her expectations, Mboko’s goals for 2026 are slightly more lofty than the ones she set herself 12 months ago.
But with tennis comes highs and lows, and the teenager is wary of placing too much pressure on herself.
“When you enter a tournament, you want to win it, so it would be nice for Canada to win the United Cup,” Mboko said.
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“This year, I don’t really want to put that much expectation on myself either because I’m not one to set huge goals.
“It would be nice to just be pretty consistent, stay healthy, have fun on the court … it would be nice to maybe go far in a grand slam, but other than that I just want to take it week by week.”
Watch the 2026 United Cup from January 2 on Nine, 9Now and Stan Sports.
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