Victoria Mboko had the most remarkable year of any player on the WTA Tour this year.
The 19-year-old, from Canada, became an overnight sensation during her march to the Canadian Open title in August – a triumph for which she was congratulated by Billie Jean King and Coco Gauff.
During her remarkable run in Montreal, Mboko defeated four Grand Slam champions: Sofia Kenin, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina and Naomi Osaka.
Mboko, who began the year ranked 333rd in the world, has climbed 215 places to world number 18 following her title win at the Hong Kong Open.
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Consequently, Mboko was named the WTA Tour’s Newcomer of the Year ahead of Alexandra Eala, Maya Joint, Iva Jovic and Eva Lys.
For all of Mboko’s achievements on the WTA Tour this year, her run from January to February may have been the most impressive.
Victoria Mboko won 40 consecutive sets to start 2025
Between January 7 and February 22, the Canadian prodigy won 40 consecutive sets in International Tennis Federation [ITF] tournaments.
During this period, Mboko won four consecutive tournaments: W35 events in La Lamentin, Petit-Bourg and Manchester, and a W75 tournament in Rome.
Her run was ended at the W50 event in Macon, France. Cypriot player Raluca Serban defeated Mboko 6-2, 6-3.
Two weeks later, Mboko won her fifth tournament in six attempts. The Canadian star won the W75 in Porto, defeating Great Britain’s Harriet Dart 6-1, 6-1 in the final.
Over two months later, the Canadian played her first main draw matches at a Grand Slam, reaching the second round after winning three qualifying matches and a main draw match.
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Victoria Mboko’s first tournament of 2026
Victoria Mboko is set to represent Canada at the 2026 United Cup alongside ATP number five Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The Canadian team, seeded second at the event, will face China in their opening match on January 4.
Mboko is scheduled to play Zhu Lin, who stunned Emma Raducanu and Mirra Andreeva at the China Open in September.
Auger-Aliassime will play former world number 31 Zhizhen Zhang in the second rubber.
