Montreal Magic: Victoria Mboko Wins First Masters 1000

Originally posted on Serve on SI | By Megha Gupta | Last updated Aug 8, 2025 8:40 AM ET

Victoria Mboko caps off a landmark summer with her first WTA title. And not just any title: a Masters 1000 title in front of her home crowd in Montreal.

The 18-year-old Canadian came back from a set down to defeat Naomi Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 at the National Bank Open on Thursday night.

She defeated four Grand Slam champions (Osaka, Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff, and Sofia Kenin) en route to the title, becoming the second youngest woman to do so in a single tournament after Serena Williams.

"I think when I had that winning moment and seeing so many people standing up and cheering for me, it was kind of a surreal experience," Mboko said." I would have never thought something like this would have came so suddenly, so I'm super happy for that. I think it just proves your dreams are closer than they are."

Osaka took the first set with relative ease, racing to a 3-0 lead after breaking Mboko early on before breaking her again at 5-2 to claim the set. Mboko struggled to maintain a rally, hitting 22 unforced errors in the 38 minutes it took for Osaka to win the set.

However, the tables turned in the second set as Osaka struggled to ride the momentum, hitting unforced errors that Mboko took advantage of to force the match into a deciding set.

Mboko broke at love in the opening game of the third set, but Osaka broke right back to bring the match level. The Canadian rolled through the third set after the first exchange of breaks, winning the next five games to take the third set 6-1 and claim her first Masters 1000 title.

"Naomi came out playing really great tennis," Mboko said. "I think she always had that aggressive kind of game style, and I knew she was that good of a player. When I lost the first set, I told myself to regroup a little bit and start fresh. I knew she was gonna also keep playing aggressive, so I kind of had to rely on my defending skills most of the match."

The teenage phenom was ranked outside the top 300 at the beginning of the season. Now, she's placed inside the top 30 with over 50 wins under her belt. The Canadian, now ranked 24th in the world, will be seeded in a Grand Slam for the first time in her career.

Mboko will not play in the upcoming Cincinnati Open, prioritizing rest and injury recovery to allow her wrist to heal ahead of the upcoming US Open.

"I don't want to put so much pressure on myself just because of something that happened this week, because life goes on, and there's always another tournament, whether win or lose," Mboko said. "I'm just happy to live the moment."

This article first appeared on Serve on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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