Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko produced a sensational comeback on Thursday to defeat four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 and secure her maiden WTA Tour title at the Canadian Open in Montreal.
The 18-year-old wild card, playing in her home country, rallied from a set down against the former world number one and capped off a dream fortnight with the biggest win of her young career.
“It’s been insane,” said Mboko, who began the year ranked 333 in the world and is now ranked 85. “Even getting the wild card to play here… I was super happy to be playing in Montreal for the first time ever.”
Mboko had already defeated three Grand Slam champions — Sofia Kenin, Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina — on her way to the final, and added Osaka to that list with an inspired performance that thrilled the home crowd.
After Osaka stormed through the first set and led 3-0 in the second, Mboko found her rhythm and broke serve to go up 5-2. As Osaka struggled with her returns, Mboko levelled the match to force a deciding set.
The turning point came in the fourth game of the final set. After saving four break points to take a 3-1 lead, Mboko never looked back, closing out the match in two hours and four minutes.
“I want to thank Naomi for an incredible match,” Mboko said during the trophy ceremony. “I’ve always looked up to her since I was very little. It’s always great to play with such an amazing player.”
Looking ahead to her debut at the U.S. Open later this month, Mboko remained grounded. “There’s a lot of new beginnings for me. I just want to enjoy the process as much as possible. Not everything will go my way, but I think it builds character.”
For Osaka, the loss extended her title drought, with her last tournament win coming at the 2021 Australian Open. The 26-year-old is working to rebuild her form after returning from maternity leave.
“It’s funny, this morning I was very grateful and I don’t know why my emotions flipped so quickly,” said Osaka. “Victoria played really well. I completely forgot to congratulate her on the court, but she did really amazing.”