It's a bit of a crazy week," Tauziat weighs in on the performances of her protégée Mboko, who has reached the semifinals in Montreal

© AFP

Jules Hypolite

le 06/08/2025 à 19h18

2 min to read

Mboko Montréal Rybakina Tauziat

Canadian tennis is thriving during the WTA 1000 in Montreal thanks to the unexpected performances of 18-year-old Victoria Mboko, who has qualified for the semifinals.

The young Canadian, who defeated Coco Gauff in the round of 16, had no trouble confirming her feat in the quarterfinals against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. On Wednesday night into Thursday, she will face another Grand Slam champion, Elena Rybakina.

Her coach, Nathalie Tauziat, discussed this highly successful tournament in a press conference:

"After Roland-Garros, we put grass aside a bit—she only played Wimbledon—because we had set goals for Montreal and the US Open. The first objective isn’t fully achieved yet, but it’s almost there. It’s a bit of a crazy week, but a very good one.

This week will be very interesting because she’ll learn a lot about herself. She’ll also learn a lot about the tour and the challenges of bouncing back after tournaments like this. We mustn’t forget she’s very young. We shouldn’t get carried away either; we need to keep our feet on the ground."

The former French No. 1 also shared her thoughts on Mboko’s upcoming opponent, Rybakina:

"She’s going to face an extremely tough opponent. Rybakina has been a top-10 player for quite a few years, so she’s a formidable competitor. The goal is to play a good match. She knows she’ll have the crowd behind her. Once again, she has nothing to lose. I hope she’s recovered well because she’s played several matches in a row now.