From watching the Canadian Open from the stands as a kid to lifting the title at the same venue to becoming the youngest Canadian woman in the Open Era to win this title, Victoria Mboko has come a long way. In May 2025, Chinese star Qinwen Zheng heaped praise on this 18-year-old rising star, saying. “She will be one of the best players in the future.” Guess what? After beating four major contenders (Sofia Kenin, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina, and Naomi Osaka) on her way to the title triumph, she has now become the second youngest player (after Serena Williams) to achieve this feat.

Victoria Mboko started the season ranked 333rd in the world, but owing to her impressive performance on home soil, she has now climbed up to the 24th spot in the singles ranking. The ascension has been rapid. In a recent video clip shared by WTA on their IG page, Mboko recalls her formative years, spending all day at the Canadian Open with her sister, Gracia, watching tennis and taking photos with players like Gael Monfils. Now, almost ten years later, Mboko celebrates the title triumph with her family at the same place. Allez Vicky!

Born on August 26, 2006, to Cyprien Mboko and Godee Kitadi, Victoria Mboko started playing tennis at the age of three in Toronto after her sister Gracia and brothers Kevin and David had already taken up the sport. Taking a walk down memory lane in the video clip, Gracia was heard saying, “Our parents would like…drop us off. We’d go and like spend all day watching…the Rogers National Bank Open.” Hearing this, Victoria added, “I should have brought one of my old credentials.“

Her sister replied, “So, Vicky was like this tall (showing how small she was at that time), and remember I used to just bring you everywhere?” The little sister revealed, “And just take photos with everyone. Like I didn’t even know who anyone was…I was like ‘Let’s take a photo.’ Yeah, I was actually with Gael (Monfils) in Washington. I’m like, ‘We need to recreate this photo.’ Like it’s been exactly 10 years.” Victoria Mboko said this, highlighting one of her childhood pictures with the Frenchman.

Later on, Gracia Mboko added that her little sister also has a cute picture with Niall Horan from One Direction. He had then come to watch Novak Djokovic play. However, Victoria Mboko claimed that at the time, she had little to no idea about who she was posing with, despite her elder sister’s obsession with him. “She dragged me through the whole stadium. We were running like all sweaty. You took a photo too, and you were all sweaty and everything. What a day that was!“

Siblings’ accounts of childhood memories are more like a volume, the same tale told differently with a nostalgia that cannot be erased. Mboko’s older brother, Kevin, played college tennis at Edinboro University in Pennsylvania, while Gracia earned a tennis scholarship at the University of Denver, and David was also labeled a “very talented” player by OnTennis magazine.

In 2021, during an interview with OnTennis magazine, Victoria Mboko spoke about the vital role her siblings play in her rapid rise. “My sister and brothers have been really important for me. I probably would not have played tennis if not for them. They played with me and coached me.” In another interview with the WTA, she revealed, “I just remember watching them from the sidelines and not wanting to be left out. I’ve actually never beaten any of them. I never like to lose a lot. I played my sister once in a tournament and I lost 0 and 0. I was absolutely devastated. They still hold that over me to this day!“

At the 2025 French Open, when she had reached the third round as a qualifier, her father, sister, and brother were all present in the stands to cheer her on as the youngest in the family. Although Victoria Mboko once jokingly claimed that she thinks now that she’s competing at a higher level than her siblings, she strongly believes that it’s because of her family that she has now achieved what she once dreamt of.

Victoria Mboko’s thoughts after fulfilling her dream on home soil

Victoria Mboko set up plenty of records to her name with her 2-6,6-4,6-1 win over four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka in the Canadian Open final. She became the fifth-youngest champion at the Canadian Open since the introduction of the Tier I format in 1990, and she is now also the second player since the WTA 1000 format introduction in 2009 to claim her maiden WTA title at this level after Naomi Osaka (Indian Wells 2018). The sky is the limit for this teenager!

Reacting to her emphatic triumph, Victoria Mboko said, “I was super happy to be playing in Montreal for the first time ever. I just remember feeling nervous, but really taking in the moment as much as I possibly could.” She further added, “When I won my first round, I was super happy and super content. I would have never thought that I would have made it to the final, let alone win the tournament. I have so many emotions going through my head, I can’t even express it.” 

Several tennis superstars lauded the youngster on her first big title triumph. But amidst all the celebrations, Victoria Mboko and Naomi Osaka have withdrawn their names from the Cincinnati Open. The Canadian said that she wants to tend to her wrist injury and prepare herself for the upcoming events, while Naomi Osaka was listed as having a “change of schedule,” according to the Cincinnati Open. 

Both players are expected to be seeded at the US Open, following their impressive performances in Montreal. How excited are you to see them back in action at the US Open? We can’t wait.