Winning your first Grand Slam match against a former Wimbledon quarterfinalist? That’s how you make tennis fans stop mid-scroll and pay attention. Victoria Mboko has made a serious statement, and the buzz is only growing louder. She’s just 18, but the Canadian has already collected 5 ITF titles and 22 straight wins this year. She sailed through French Open qualifying to book her main draw debut. Now, she’s in the third round, and the world’s starting to notice. While you’d expect comparisons to someone like Coco Gauff or Mirra Andreeva, Mboko is being measured against a legend of the sport, Venus Williams. Let’s find out what the fans are saying!

A few years ago, a knee injury threatened to slow Mboko down. It came from a mix of rapid growth and a nasty fall on the court. But she didn’t back down. Instead, she spent last year training in Belgium at the academy of Justine Henin, the former world No. 1 and four-time French Open champ. That work paid off. In 2025, the Canadian decided to unleash the version of herself she always believed in – powerful, aggressive, athletic. In Miami, she took down Camila Osorio and pushed 10th seed Paula Badosa to a third-set tiebreak at Roland-Garros.

Then came Rome. She lit up Campo Centrale in the first set of her second-round match against Coco Gauff, drilling forehands and backhands like a seasoned pro. Gauff ended up winning in three sets, but she didn’t walk away unfazed. “She felt like playing myself,” Gauff said after the match. “On the movement, I would say she’s up there with me on that,” added Gauff, widely considered one of the best movers in the game.

While the World No.2 saw a version of herself, Mboko’s recent performances at the French Open have fans comparing her to none other than 7-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams.

Fans Say Victoria Mboko Is the New Venus Williams

Victoria Mboko opened with a 6-1, 7-6 (4) win over New Zealand’s Lulu Sun. Then, she backed it up with a solid 6-4, 6-4 win over Germany’s Eva Lys. Up next: a third-round showdown with Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng.

Her performance has sparked a flurry of fan reactions. One fan on X wrote, “Serve, backhand and movement are top tier! She reminds me of a young Venus Williams with the freedom in which she plays. She’s definitely special! Imagine her on the grass or at the US Open.”

Mboko’s natural instinct is to hit big. “I like to be very powerful and I like to take control of the point,” she told the WTA. “I like things at my own pace, I don’t like people rushing me.”

But she’s not just about power. “Not every match I’m going to be in control, so we also work a lot on my defensive game and counterpunching a lot,” she said. “I’m sure there are so many girls out there who can hit way harder than me, so to be able to move well is also very important. In order to take control, you gotta build it first, run a bit and have some stamina.”

Another fan added, “I will keep saying it but Victoria Mboko is truly special. It’s like watching 19 year old Venus Williams but with her own style and flair. 1st Roland Garros and into the 3rd round and now top 100….imagine when she hits the grass and hardcourt! #RolandGarros”

While she’s crushing it on clay, the 18-year-old actually prefers other surfaces. She grew up playing indoors on hard courts and called that her “favorite surface for my whole life.” And for grass, she’s got a secret weapon, her coach Nathalie Tauziat. The former World No. 3 was known for her serve-and-volley style and grass-court expertise.

Another fan chimed in, “Mboko will cause her (Quinwen Zheng) problems, Benoît, it’s Venus from 1999.” That’s not just any comparison. 1999 was a breakout year for Venus Williams. She won three Tier I titles, made the quarters at Wimbledon, reached the U.S. Open semis, and finished the season ranked No. 3 in the world.

Then came a fan throwback: “Mboko had two consecutive backhand down the line winners in her last service game which were like peak Venus in Dubai 2010 in that final against Azarenka! The roar followed after it.”

For those who remember, Venus defeated Victoria Azarenka 6-3, 7-5 in a gripping Dubai Open final in 2010. The backhand down the line was her signature, and fans are seeing shades of that in Mboko.

One more fan summed it all up and wrote, “Wondering if Venus has observed Victoria Mboko a qualifier, now in the 3rd round. She’s got all it takes to be huge in WTA and she’s going to do just that… May indeed remind people of Venus on the court, in more ways than obvious.”

Even though she’s getting Venus comparisons, Mboko’s biggest inspiration is Serena Williams. “We were watching a lot of Serena and Venus, and that’s where I took a lot of inspiration, because Serena was literally the greatest of all time,” she said. “I used to see how the pros are and I used to be in so much awe of them. And now I’m seeing them like right beside me. It’s crazy how life works, it’s such a great feeling.”

Her journey’s only just begun, but the buzz around her is real. And if she’s reminding fans of Venus Williams at just 18, the future looks scary good. Are we witnessing the rise of tennis’s next powerhouse? What do you think?