Witnessed personally.
18-Year-Old Victoria Mboko Makes History at the Banque Nationale Open
In the heart of Montreal, Quebec, the IGA Stadium buzzed with excitement as 18-year-old Victoria Mboko prepared to challenge four-time major champion Naomi Osaka in the final of the 2025 Banque Nationale Open.
Mboko's journey to the title was nothing short of remarkable. The young Canadian defeated four major Grand Slam champions during the tournament, including top-seeded Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina, 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin, and Osaka herself.
Her path was fraught with challenges. She saved a match point against Rybakina in the semifinals and became the first Canadian to defeat three former Grand Slam champions in a single WTA event in the Open Era. Mboko also joined an elite group of players to reach their first WTA final as a wild card at a WTA 1000-level event.
Despite a tough start, with Osaka winning the first set 6-2, Mboko showed remarkable resilience, fighting back to take the second set 6-4. However, Osaka's experience proved too much in the third set, with Mboko losing 1-6.
Mboko's victory was a significant moment in Canadian tennis history. She became the youngest Canadian ever to win the singles title at the country’s biggest tennis event and only the third Canadian winner in the Open era, joining Bianca Andreescu and Faye Urban.
The crowd, a sea of fans from various names (Dery, Smith, Laferriere, Rossi, Ibrahim, Wang), gave an ovation worthy of a Stanley Cup, celebrating Mboko's performance. The man sitting next to the author, a Japanese national, was among them, rooting for Mboko, not the Japanese player.
Mboko, with the M in her name symbolising "Montreal" and "love", expressed her love for the city during the tournament. She spoke to the world with frankness, kindness, humility, and intelligence, expressing her gratitude and ambition.
On this Thursday late afternoon, under a blue sky, the author, a die-hard Montreal Canadiens fan, found tennis more enjoyable to watch in person. The final set at the IGA stadium was a human-scale spectacle, like a two-character play, with the crowd's pure, joyful emotion in the air.
Mboko's victory was more than just a tennis match. It was a testament to her determination, talent, and the spirit of unity that the tournament had inspired. Her win was a promising indicator of her future potential on the global stage, with Mboko set to be seeded for the first time at the 2025 U.S. Open main draw as a result.
Footnote:
- ESPN
- CBC Sports
- Sportsnet
- TSN
- In the midst of the sports scene, the author, a devoted hockey fan, felt a newfound appreciation for tennis, comparing the electrifying atmosphere at the IGA Stadium to that of a Stanley Cup final.
- Reflecting on the diverse crowd at the tournament, the author found it notable that a Japanese spectator was cheering for Mboko, signaling an intersection of sports, much like how a game of hockey might unite fans from different backgrounds on the ice.
