"A completely surreal experience," Mboko living the dream after her WTA 1000 triumph in Montreal
Victoria Mboko delivered an exceptional performance in Montreal. The young player, who will turn 19 at the end of August, defied the odds in this Quebec tournament to claim the first title of her career—a WTA 1000 crown—after seven consecutive victories.
After saving a match point against Elena Rybakina in the semifinals, the Canadian staged a comeback against Naomi Osaka in the final (2-6, 6-4, 6-1), triumphing on home soil. In the process, she made a dramatic leap in the rankings, jumping from 85th to 25th in a single tournament. Following her victory, Mboko shared her thoughts.
"Here, I’m playing at home, and I’ve always imagined competing here in front of my crowd—it’s something spectacular. When I won, people were screaming, and I felt like it was a completely surreal experience.
I’m very happy, and it shows that achieving your dreams is closer than you think. In the last game, I felt very close, but I had this conquering mindset to keep as many balls in play as possible.
Naomi (Osaka) is a player who’s always been very aggressive, so I had to run as much as possible. She’s an incredible player who brings out great tennis. When I lost the first set, I only thought about one thing: resetting mentally because I knew she would maintain the same level of play.
I wanted to strengthen my defensive skills against her powerful shots—I gave everything and was lucky enough to win the match. I saw she was affected by the loss, but I couldn’t talk to her afterward because she didn’t give me the chance.
I understand all the buzz around me because it’s my first big title and I’m still young, but I’ve always wanted to take things very simply, whether in tennis or life in general.
I like being calm and pressure-free, and I think I’ll keep going this way, sticking to the habits I’m building. I don’t want to put pressure on myself over what happened this week—I just want to live in the moment.
I’ll celebrate this title by spending time with my friends and family," said the 18-year-old Mboko in her post-final interview with Punto de Break.
