The tennis world took notice when Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko won the Montreal title in August with victories over four Grand Slam champions along the way, and the Serena Williams comparisons were not far behind.
The parallels with the 23-times Grand Slam champion were not misplaced.
Mboko became the youngest player since Williams to defeat four major winners in a tournament when she downed Sofia Kenin, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina and Naomi Osaka to claim the WTA 1000 crown in Canada.
The 19-year-old rookie went on to prove that triumph was no fluke, backing it up with the Hong Kong title on Sunday when she outlasted Spaniard Cristina Bucsa 7-5 6-7(9) 6-2 in the longest tour-level final of the season.
Ranked 350th in the world this time last year, Mboko stormed into the top 20 for the first time when the list was updated on Monday and now sits 18th with an impressive win-loss record of 60-14 in 2025.
“It feels really nice to finish the season with a win. I try to stay calm and not put too many expectations on myself,” Mboko said after battling for two hours and 49 minutes in Hong Kong.
“There are so many talented players, you never know what’s going to happen. I like to take things day by day.
“I’m just really happy I managed to win another title, keep myself pumped up and stay positive in the third set, even though I was super tired and Cristina was playing great tennis and fighting hard.”
Born in the United States to parents who fled political unrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mboko moved to Canada as a child and began hitting balls on a court in Ontario aged four.
An aggressive baseliner with a big serve, Mboko developed her game around taking the initiative, but it was her ability to fight that came to the fore last week with four of her five wins coming in three sets.
Mboko’s fearless brand of tennis is another aspect that has caught the attention of analysts and coaches, including Williams’ former mentor Patrick Mouratoglou.
“Number one asset of Victoria Mboko, she has no respect,” Mouratoglou said in an Instagram post in August.
“It doesn’t mean she’s disrespectful. It means she doesn’t look up to players thinking ‘wow! I cannot beat that player. I’m not here yet’. No, she plays to win, whoever is on the other side of the court.
“It’s difficult to think that she’s not going to win Grand Slams. Great physicality, the way she moves on court, and she’s very offensive … she controls the court and has this aura.”
Noted coach Rick Macci, who has developed many star players over a long career, including Williams and her sister Venus, Maria Sharapova, Jennifer Capriati and Andy Roddick, believes it is only a matter of time before Mboko cracks the top five.
“She’s the real deal,” Macci wrote on X during Mboko’s run to the Montreal title shortly before she turned 19.
“Has the juice off the ground and loves to pound. Produces high-level quality on the run and at 18 her career has just begun.”
