Eighteen-year-old Victoria Mboko delivered one of the biggest shocks of the Canadian Open as she defeated top seed and two-time Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff to reach the quarter-finals in Montreal.
Mboko, who received a wildcard entry into the main draw, needed just over an hour to beat Gauff 6-1, 6-4, in a performance that electrified the home crowd and underlined her rapid rise through the ranks.
Entering the year ranked outside the top 300, the Canadian teenager has been on a remarkable run. She won 22 consecutive matches without dropping a set on the ITF circuit, claiming five titles and rising to world No. 85 by the time she arrived in Montreal.
Her straight-sets win over Gauff, who has struggled with consistency throughout the tournament, will now catapult Mboko to No. 53 in the WTA rankings. She will next face Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, ranked 83rd, for a place in the semi-finals.
“Coming into the match, I was so locked in,” Mboko said after the victory. “I tried to keep my composure as much as I could, especially playing in front of so many people. This is a very special experience for me.”
The teenager broke Gauff four times from five chances, while the American continued to battle her serve, registering six double faults and bringing her tournament total to 43 in just three matches.
Despite the defeat, Gauff praised her opponent’s potential. “I think she’s going to have a lot of success on tour. I’m sure we’re going to have many more battles in the future,” she said.
Mboko has now dropped just one set across her four matches at the tournament, and with each round, she’s proving that her ascent is no fluke.
Meanwhile, second seed Iga Swiatek moved comfortably into the last 16 with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Germany’s Eva Lys.
On the men’s side in Toronto, Norway’s Casper Ruud fell 6-4, 7-5 to Karen Khachanov. Top seed Alexander Zverev progressed to the quarter-finals without stepping on court, after his scheduled opponent, Francisco Cerundolo, withdrew due to injury.
There was also disappointment for fifth seed Holger Rune, who lost 6-4, 2-6, 3-6 to Australian Alexei Popyrin after throwing away a promising start.
But in Montreal, the story of the day, and perhaps the tournament, belongs to Victoria Mboko, a young Canadian star making waves on home soil, and now just three wins away from a dream title.
