18-year-old Victoria Mboko bounces back from a set down to beat former world number one Naomi Osaka
Defeat four grand slam champions in Sofia Kenin, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina and Osaka en route title
Loss leaves Osaka without a WTA title win since 2021
Wildcard Victoria Mboko captured her first WTA title after rallying from a set behind to defeat four-time grand slam champion Naomi Osaka in the Canadian Open final, 2-6 6-4 6-1.
The 18-year-old's victory makes her just the third Canadian to win the tournament in the Open era.
Mboko, who began 2025 ranked outside the top 300, delighted the home crowd in Montreal. She entered the event ranked 85th but is projected to break into the world’s top 50 after this triumph.
Her path to the title saw her defeat four grand slam champions in Sofia Kenin, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina and Osaka.
In Thursday's final, Mboko struggled early on, making numerous unforced errors, which allowed Osaka to claim the first set.
However, Mboko stabilised in the second set amid seven breaks of serve, then controlled play in the decider, winning the last five games to clinch victory.
Reflecting on her win, she expressed her disbelief and gratitude, remarking: “These past two weeks have been insane... I would have never thought that I would have made it to the final, let alone win the tournament. I have so many emotions going through my head, I can’t even express it.”
Mboko is only the second wildcard to secure the Canadian Open title, after Monica Seles in 1995, and the first Canadian to win the women’s event in Montreal.
Meanwhile, defeat leaves Osaka without a WTA title win since 2021, having lost her first final since 2022, but the Japanese player was glowing in her appraisal of her opponent.
She said: “I'm really happy to have played the final. I think Victoria played really well. I completely forgot to congratulate her on the court. Yeah, I mean, she did really amazing.”
Data Debrief: Mboko's breakout success
This was a match of firsts for the pair, who had never previously faced each other, while it was also the first time two players ranked outside the top 40 of the WTA rankings had faced off in a WTA 1000 final since the format’s introduction in 2009.
Mboko (18 years, 336 days) is the fourth-youngest finalist at the Canadian Open since 2000, older only than Belinda Bencic in 2015.
Since the introduction of the format in 1990, Mboko became just the second Canadian to win a title at a Tier 1/WTA-1000 event, after Bianca Andreescu (Indian Wells and Toronto 2019).
