Teen star Victoria Mboko has been tipped to make a big splash at the U.S. Open, with Mats Wilander sending challengers Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff a stark warning
Defending U.S. Open champion Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff have been warned about teenage sensation Victoria Mboko ahead of the final Grand Slam of 2025 after her shock win at the Canadian Open.
Mboko, 18, of Canada, pulled off a shock WTA win in Montreal earlier this month, defeating several seeded opponents, including 2025 French Open winner Gauff in the Round of 16 and four-time Slam winner Naomi Osaka in the final. However, Mboko’s momentum was temporarily halted heading into the U.S. Open after pulling out of the Cincinnati Masters to rest a wrist injury and prepare for the upcoming Slam in NYC.
Still, Mboko is being tipped as a strong performer at Flushing Meadows after being seeded following a meteoric rise in world rankings.
Mats Wilander believes Mboko has been a “breath of fresh air” for tennis and could win the U.S. Open as a teen, just like Emma Raducanu in 2021, Gauff in 2023, and Bianca Andreescu in 2019.
“Well, Victoria Mboko is obviously a breath of fresh air,” he said. “Wow, what a tennis player she is at such a young age.
“Then of course, coming from Canada. Canada has had great women players in Eugenie Bouchard and Bianca Andreescu, but she’s following in their footsteps. So that’s unbelievably exciting.
“It’s exciting because she’s athletically so mature and she also hits the ball unbelievably well.
“Plus she’s got a great attitude, so I think we’re looking at someone that’s going to challenge for Grand Slam singles wins in the next 10 years.”
“Is she good enough to win it already?,” he continued, firing a warning at 2024 champ Sabalenka and 2023 champ Gauff. “Yeah, maybe, she won the Canadian Open. Why couldn’t she win the US Open? We’ve seen it done with Emma Raducanu. We saw it done with Bianca Andreescu. They were really young, both of them, and so is Mboko…
“These young players, they’re really being helped by some of the younger champions – like Carlos Alcaraz or Emma Raducanu – because they suddenly believe that they can win at 18 years old, and then Mboko obviously is one of them.”
Despite her age, Wilander believes Mboko’s strong mentality will serve her well. “The two most important things in tennis is the mind and movement, the two big M’s, and she has both of those,” he added.
“You’re going to have good days and bad days when it comes to hitting forehands and backhands, but your mind and movement will never be bad if you’re good at it.
“And I think that’s what she has. She’s an unbelievable athlete and she’s an unbelievable fighter, and I think that’s why she’s going to stay at the top.”
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