In a dramatic three-set thriller at the National Bank Open, 18-year-old Canadian wild card Victoria Mboko staged a comeback to defeat reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(4), securing her first WTA final berth on home soil. The world No. 85, who began the year ranked outside the top 300, saved a critical match point in the deciding set before clinching victory in a tiebreaker that ignited rapturous cheers from fans chanting “Allez Vicky” in Montréal.
The nearly three-hour marathon saw Mboko battle through 11 double-faults and a mid-match wrist injury sustained during an awkward fall. “She was playing incredible tennis, but I kept my composure,” said Mboko, who broke Rybakina’s serve twice in the third set. “The crowd’s energy pulled me through those tough moments.” Her triumph sets up a championship clash against four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka, who advanced with a 6-2, 7-6(7) semifinal win over Denmark’s Clara Tauson.
Mboko’s rapid ascent marks a breakthrough tournament, highlighted by earlier upsets over top-seeded Coco Gauff and Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. A victory on Thursday would make her the third Canadian to win the event in the Open Era, joining 1969 champion Faye Urban and 2019 US Open winner Bianca Andreescu. Born in North Carolina to Congolese immigrants and raised in Toronto, Mboko credited local support as pivotal to her success: “Hearing the crowd gives me that extra push when doubts creep in.”
For Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon titlist and recent Strasbourg Open champion, the loss marked a missed opportunity to extend her 1-0 head-to-head advantage against Mboko from last month’s Washington encounter. “It was a big fight that could’ve gone either way,” the ninth seed acknowledged, praising her opponent’s clutch serving. Despite the defeat, Rybakina’s nine career WTA titles underscore her status among the tour’s elite.
Osaka’s resurgence adds intrigue to the final. The former world No. 1, returning from a 15-month hiatus that included the birth of her daughter Shai in July 2023, seeks her first title since the 2021 Australian Open. Her semifinal performance against Tauson marked her deepest run in a WTA 1000 event since reaching Miami’s championship match two years ago.
Health remains a concern for Mboko, who revealed post-match that the wrist injury sustained during the third set “temporarily shook my confidence” but has significantly improved. Her projected leap to at least 34th in next week’s rankings reflects one of the season’s most remarkable climbs, positioning her as Canada’s latest tennis hopeful. As Montréal prepares for Friday’s final, the stage is set for a compelling generational duel between a rising homegrown talent and a seasoned champion eyeing her comeback moment.
