Getting to know Victoria Mboko

Victoria Mboko is taking the National Bank Open presented by Rogers by storm.

Mboko reached the third round with a late-night win Tuesday against Sofia Kenin and next faces Maria Bouzkova on Thursday.

The 18-year-old is playing at a career-high ranking of no. 85 and regardless of what happens against Bouzkova, she’s guaranteed to move up even more, inside the Top 70.

Let’s get to know her.

Ties to the U.S.

Like Carson Branstine, Mboko was born in the United States, in Charlotte, North Carolina.

She is the youngest of four children, who all play tennis. Older sister Gracia and older brother Kevin featured in college tennis in the U.S.

The family eventually moved to Toronto before the siblings trained in nearby Burlington under former Canadian Davis Cup captain Pierre Lamarche. Mboko later honed her skills at Justine Henin’s academy in Belgium.

Mboko’s parents, dad Cyprien and mom Godee, emigrated from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Who initially had the tennis bug? Cyprien.

“I have been watching tennis since I was very young,” he told Ontario Tennis. “My friend and I, back home in the Congo, would watch (Andre) Agassi, (Jim) Courier, (Steffi) Graf and all the other great players. Tennis was good exercise for our children, but I must have bought about 1,000 balls from Walmart and they all seemed to end up in the bushes.”

Junior prowess

It wasn’t long before Mboko enjoyed success in the junior ranks, making the U14 final at the prestigious Orange Bowl as a 12-year-old in 2018.

She competed in the junior division at the Grand Slams, making the semi-finals at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2022. Alexandra Eala – enjoying her breakthrough in 2025 – beat her at Flushing Meadows.

Mboko shone in doubles, too, reaching the final at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon with fellow Canadian Kayla Cross in 2022.

The duo was on Wednesday’s NBO match schedule.

Progress halted

Mboko is still in her teens but has had injuries, notably to her knees. She told tennis journalist Carole Bouchard this year that it made her realize the importance of looking after her body.

“To have an injury that young is not very common, but it made me aware of how I needed to take care of my body a little bit more, made me learn to spend this extra time warming up, to take that extra time to stretch, and it made me learn everything I can do to recover properly,” said Mboko, who met Rafael Nadal in 2022 in Melbourne.

When healthy…

In good health, Mboko is showing what she can do.

She landed four straight lower-level titles as part of a 22-match win streak in 2025 thanks to a blend of power and movement, not dropping a single set.

When the streak ended in late February, Mboko responded by…winning her next tournament.

After making her biggest final in May (one step below the 250 level), Mboko competed in her first Grand Slam main draw at the French Open after going through qualifying.

She made the third round, then won a round at Wimbledon as a lucky loser. Did we mention that Mboko also won both her matches on the road in her Billie Jean King Cup debut for Canada in April?

For some perspective, Mboko began 2025 ranked outside the Top 300.

NBO debut

This week marks Mboko’s debut at the NBO – in the main draw.

While still a junior, she lost in the opening round of qualifying to American Claire Liu in Toronto in 2022.

Mboko and Bouzkova will square off for the first time on Thursday. The Czech, ranked no. 39 in world, has momentum, like Mboko, after winning a WTA title at home last weekend.

Photo: Pascal Ratthé

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