Victoria Mboko Continues To Shine

19 years old. World #10. A WTA 1000 Champion.

When you watch Victoria Mboko, you can’t help but feel you’re witnessing the origin story of a future superstar. Her powerful yet intricate game proved a joy to watch in Indian Wells and could only be stopped by World #1 and two-time finalist, Aryna Sabalenka.

Victoria Mboko Continues To Shine

A Sharp Rise

It’s been a whirlwind year for the Canadian, who makes her debut a the BNP Paribas Open. With such a dramatic rise to the top ten, it’s easy to forget that this time last year she was working her trade on the ITF tour, beating Harriet Dart in Porto to lift her 12th title at that level. She admits,

“It’s crazy honestly playing this tournament for the first time and being in the top ten, it’s a little bit weird for me. There’s of course pressure that comes with it but I mean, then again I’ve never been here before so I think just played that into part.”

After navigating the first two rounds against Kimberly Birrell and Anna Kalinskaya with relative ease, Mboko set up a blockbuster clash with Amanda Anisimova. Against the US Open runner-up, she steamrolled her way past, losing just five games. Facing one of the sport’s biggest names in an unfamiliar environment, her relaxed nature showed through, with the Canadian so at ease from the first minute,

“I was like, you know what I’m playing her for the first time, I’ve never been here so don’t expect of myself, just go out there and play my game and see what happens.”

A Statement Victory

Yet, Anisimova started well, snapping of a series of highlight reel-worthy winners to hold the opening game. For six games, the competitive quality was immense. Big hitting, aggressive net play and exquisite placement, it had all the ingredients of a classic.

Mboko, though, managed to find another gear and forced the all-important break in the seventh game. From that point on, she never looked back. She fought off Anisimova’s successful net craft to round off the opening set 6-4.

An immediate break in the second set followed, with a trademark bullet return forcing the error. Some tight games followed, but Mboko excelled on the decisive points, and at 5-1 up, she broke to love to book a place in the quarterfinals with Aryna Sabalenka.

Mboko spoke after, saying,

“It’s crazy honestly playing this tournament for the first time and being in the top ten, it’s a little bit weird for me. There’s of course pressure that comes with it but I mean, then again I’ve never been here before so I think just played that into part.

I was like, you know what I’m playing her for the first time, I’ve never been here so don’t expect of myself, just go out there and play my game and see what happens.”

A Step Up

Unsurprisingly, Sabalenka would prove to be a step up in quality. Previously beating Naomi Osaka 6-2 6-4, the World #1 has seemingly had the bit between her teeth this fortnight to lift her first BNP Paribas Open title.

Against one of the biggest hitters on Tour, Mboko held her own. The main difference proved to be the crucial points. Against Anisimova, she showed remarkable consistency in these moments and was ultimately more solid. In contrast, Sabalenka flexed her muscles and raised her controlled aggression in these moments and the 19-year-old was simply unable to answer. The 7-0 tiebreak reveals as much.

Nevertheless, the ability to do so will come with experience and an increased familiarity to the biggest stage. She is still learning on the job.

Next up is Miami, and with a whole lot of ranking points up for grabs in the coming months, she has an excellent opportunity to accelerate even further up the rankings. Such a chance may bring an increased expectation and pressure but you sense she is the type of character who will be able to deal with just that.

“The more milestones I achieve I kind of want to go for more but then again I’m a person who doesn’t really set goals for myself because I just like to surprise myself as we go. Whether it’s good results or bad results, it happens to everyone. Honestly, as long as the trajectory is up whether it’s a good feat or bad, that’s all that matters to me.”