18-year-old Canadian sensation, Victoria Mboko, has taken the tennis world by storm. Playing in her maiden Grand Slam at the 2025 French Open, Mboko is riding high on the back of some impressive wins to make it to the third round in Paris. 22 straight wins this year, to be more specific. At such a young age, she is achieving big things, something which was noticed by her next opponent, Qinwen Zheng. Ahead of their encounter, the Chinese star was asked about Mboko achieving big things at a young age.

Mboko might be just 18 but at 22, Zheng isn’t that much older herself. Like Victoria Mboko, Zheng also started delivering results quickly ever since she stepped onto the big stage. She is already a Grand Slam finalist, having reached the Australian Open final last year. As a result, she was asked if she could relate to Mboko, having been in a similar position herself.

Talking about it, Zheng said, “I think every time young players come, they have a lot of hunger for sure. They fight a lot for sure. Because it’s their dream place. But same as me, it’s my dream place too. It doesn’t matter for me.”

Further, she went on to add, “When you arrive in the professional tour, you don’t think about the age anymore because everyone is the same. You just face another opponent. Doesn’t matter for me if it’s world #1 or world #100. Doesn’t matter the age. My goal is to just step on the court, enjoy the match, play my best tennis, and fight.”

Entering the tournament as a qualifier, Victoria Mboko has won five straight matches en route to her clash against Zheng. Moreover, she is yet to lose a set in the tournament, which speaks volumes of her domination. In the first round, the Canadian star got the better of Lulu Sun in straight sets 6-1, 7-6 (4). Subsequently, she continued her dominant form, defeating Eva Lys in the second round 6-4, 6-4. Going by her amazing run, it would be an exciting clash between Mboko and Zheng.

Further, Mboko also revealed what motivates her to keep performing at her highest level. That factor is present at the ongoing French Open, as her winning run continues.

Victoria Mboko has the support of her family

Making her maiden Grand Slam main draw appearance, Victoria Mboko’s family ensured to make it a special event for the 18-year-old. As a result, three of her family members, her father and two siblings, are present at Roland Garros to cheer for her inside the stadium. Further, Mboko also credited her family for constantly backing her to achieve greatness.

She said, “Yeah, they are all very so supportive of me, and they’re so positive every single day in all the matches I play… I feel like my family has been doing a good job of keeping me really, like, I guess, isolated from it all. I have just been enjoying the moment. My father, I feel like he’s made a lot of sacrifices for me, so I’m grateful that he’s here, as well. He’s retired now, but, you know, when I was training a lot, he was working night shifts so he could be at every single one of my practices, especially when I was a junior.”

The upcoming match against Zheng would be one of the biggest of Victoria Mboko’s career. Although the Chinese star looks like the favorite, Mboko cannot be ruled out, given her recent form.