Mboko Stepping Into the Spotlight After Incredible Start to 2025

Photo : Sarah-Jade Champagne

2025 so far has been the year of Victoria Mboko and, by all indications, she is only getting warmed up.

The 18-year-old, who was born in North Carolina but moved to Toronto as a small child and grew up watching tennis at Sobeys Stadium, has been long tapped as the next Canadian star and this year she is truly living up to her potential. She opened up the season on a 22-match winning streak, winning four titles in a row without even dropping a set, including one as a qualifier.

Her 20 consecutive main-draw match wins were the most by a Canadian woman since the ITF began keeping such records in 1994, breaking Rebecca Marino’s record of 18. As a result of her hot start to the season, Mboko leapt into the Top 200 of the WTA rankings for the first time and is currently the fifth-highest-ranked Canadian woman in singles at No. 162.

Reminder, she is just 18 years old.

For fans who might not be as familiar with Mboko, there is a reason for that. Over the last few years, injuries have held her back. But now that she is healthy in 2025, the teen is showing the world what she can do.

Last Friday, the Torontonian spoke to the media and explained that “I didn’t really do a lot last year. I was coming off injuries. I was training in Europe. I was really far away from home, I didn’t really get a lot of opportunities to play close to home or a lot of tournaments in general. So when I started playing this year, I had a pretty busy schedule. I was really pumped to play a lot of matches and was really excited just to get on the court and just play freely. New Year, clean slate. I’m glad it’s been going well and hopefully, I can continue doing well. So far so good.”

Learning how to handle success is part of professional development for young athletes. Winning is great, but it is also important to stay focused. It is fair to say that Mboko has handled it well so far in 2025.

“When all of that [the winning streak] was happening, I wasn’t super surprised because every match I play, I want to win. Looking back on it, to have achieved that, it’s kind of surprising for me. I would have never thought that I was going do something like that,” said the 18-year-old. “In the first two months, I felt like I had a lot of confidence with my game when I had the win streak. I felt very confident and comfortable with my game. So to continue like that was honestly really, really fun and really nice, and it gave me a better feeling of where I am with my game.”

When she finally lost in the first round of an ITF W50 in France, she immediately responded the following week by picking up title No. 5 at a W75 in Porto, Portugal, the biggest title of her career to date.

“It’s not possible to win every single match that you’re going to play. I feel like I was able to recover quickly, because I put in my head that ‘yeah, I had a good start to the to the year, but it’s quite impossible to win every single match,’” explained Mboko. “So for me to recover from that, I brushed it off a little bit. I’m like, ‘You know what? It’s a new week, just play, just try your hardest and aim for the title.’ That’s what I do every other week, I try to win. So to win in Portugal was really exciting. It was a really good feeling.”

It has been such a successful start to the season that Mboko actually had a hard time getting some of her trophies home.

“The first two tournaments I won, I was coming back from the Caribbean, and [the trophies] are pretty big plates. So to get them through the airport, with security, they’re not very nice when they see big trophies or big pieces of metal like that. So when it came time to bring them through airport security and customs, especially going on an international flight, it wasn’t easy at all. For my dad as well. I met up with him in Montreal and he didn’t have a big luggage with him, so he had to bring them by hand.”

As of Mar. 17, Mboko’s 25 main-draw match wins and five titles both lead the ITF Tour in 2025. Including qualifying she is 27-1 in singles, with a 53-4 record in sets. For good measure, she also won her first two doubles tournaments of the year too.

Victoria Mboko holds the trophy in Manchester, her fourth title already in 2025.

That incredible start earned her a main-draw wildcard into the Miami Open, which will be her first main draw at the WTA 1000 level.

“I was so excited,” said Mboko of getting the Miami wildcard. “It’s a 1000, right below the Grand Slams. I was grateful for the opportunity that I received. To play in Miami too, it’s so fun. I’m really happy, and I was really excited.”

When Mboko spoke to the media on Friday, the draw had not yet been released but she was asked who she would like to play.

“I’m not really thinking of anyone in particular, but maybe even playing a Top 10 player, regardless of who it is, would be such a big opportunity. You get to showcase what you can do. I don’t think people know me here, so hopefully, when I play, I can really show what I bring to the table and hopefully come out with the win.”

She won’t quite get her wish but could get a high-ranked opponent quite quickly in Miami. The first Top 10 player Mboko could play is Madison Keys in the fourth round but she could have a high-ranked opponent even earlier. She plays Camila Osorio in the first round and a victory would set up a clash with World No. 11 Paula Badosa.

Mboko made her professional debut in July 2021, a month before her 15^th birthday. Less than a year later, she reached her first professional final, a W25 in Monastir, Tunisia, and three months after that picked up her first title at age 15, winning on home soil in Saskatoon. A month after that, she made her first and, prior to the upcoming Miami Open, only appearance in a WTA Tour main draw at the 250 event in Granby, QC, losing to her veteran countrywoman Marino.

Even in the midst of all this early success in 2025, Mboko knows that there is still room to grow.

“[The streak] did do a lot for my confidence but at the same time, I also wanted to work on things. My game’s not perfect. Not everyone’s game is not going to be 100% perfect. It made me mentally tougher with myself, and I feel obviously good about myself. But at the end of the day, I also want to polish a little bit more. As I go up in the level, it’s going to get harder, and my weaknesses are going to get exploited a lot more. So keep improving is very important for me.”

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As well as the Miami wildcard, Mboko also got the nod to join Team Canada at the Billie Jean King Cup for the first time at the upcoming qualifiers in April.

“When I got selected to play for Team Canada, I was super excited. It’s a big honour to play for the country and especially playing abroad for your country. It’s a super great feeling, carrying the flag on your back. Being a part of this, it’s super uplifting and to play alongside such great players like Rebecca and Marina, I’m really excited for this and I feel like I’m going to learn a lot.”

It is going to be a big month, and hopefully career, for the young Canadian.

Written By

Pete Borkowski

Victoria Mboko Stepping Into the Spotlight After Incredible Start to 2025