Taking a break to rest a painful right poles, the Canadian tennis star Victoria Mboko gives the chance to think about an unforgettable fourteen days in Montreal.
Things are going to change in an important way for the open champion of the National Bank. She surprised the sold-out audience in Iga Stadium on Thursday evening with a stunning victory over four-time Grand SLAM champion Naomi Osaka of Japan.
On Friday, Mboko 61 scored places to a career-best no. 24 in the world ranking after having demanded 1000 title in the world ranking. Her days of grinding through qualifications or relying on wildcard entries are over.
At the age of 18 she is also a millionaire after claiming a check of a winner of more than US $ 752,000 – or around $ 1.03 million Canadian.
Mboko skips the current tournament in Cincinnati and will look ahead to the upcoming US Open instead. She will be a placed player at the last Grand Slam of the season.
Not bad for someone who was ranked 351st last year and played W50 events on the ITF tour at a lower level.
“I feel that the ingredients are sure in terms of a whole package,” said Robert Bettauer, a former director of tennis development with Tennis Canada. “Athletics, technical expertise, power, court information and De Grote is emotional: mental control and management.”
Mboko played like a veteran when she got some of the biggest names on the circuit. She shone at the big moments and raised her game when needed.
Four former Grand Slam champions – Osaka, Sofia Kenin, Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina – all fell into the Toronto player, who grew up in nearby Burlington.
Mboko has the power game to hang with the best of the sport and does not seem to get tired on the field. Her strong collection skills and aggressiveness can confuse opponents.
“Most players use their athletic skills to defend (or) only to play attack,” said Sportnet Tennis broadcaster Jesse Levine. “She uses it in two ways, so it’s impressive.”
For someone who is so young, Mboko is impressed by playing without fear and seeming comfortable when the pressure is high.
“Shehas consistently won at every level of tennis she played,” said Gavin Ziv, CEO of Tennis Canada. “From the smaller circuits on the ITF Pro circuit to the challengers go, now to the (WTA) tour level.
“So for people near tennis, I don’t think it’s a shock that we see her doing so well.”
Mboko also showed her courage by achieving a semi -final on Rybakina despite a heavily absorbed wrist after a fall on the field. The wrist was swollen for the final, but she played because of the inconvenience for her first career title during the Top-Flight Tour.
It can be easy to forget that Mboko is still a teenager.
Her game on the field is matched by her off-court professionalism. She showed adulthood after her years in Montreal by touching all the right notes in her post-Victory speech and on media availability.
“She seems like a very grounded, sensible person, and she has all the tools,” said Bettauer, an old player, broadcaster and CEO of the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence.
Mboko is now the highest Canadian on tour and moves two places for Leylah Fernandez from Laval, Que. She also joined the fifth ranking Russian Mirra Andreeva-Die also 18 is-as the only players under 20 in the top 25.
Mboko said that she likes to be ‘really relaxed and calm’, which will serve her well in the printing of Flushing Meadows from 24 August.
“I think I want to keep the same routines in the future that I am usually used to,” she said. “I don’t want to put that much pressure on myself only because of something that happened this week because life goes on.
“There is always another tournament, or (I) win or loss. I am just happy to live in the moment. Once it has passed, it is over.”
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