Victoria Mboko has finished the 2025 tennis season on a high, winning the WTA Newcomer of the Year ahead of her peers.
The 19-year-old Canadian produced one of the stories of the century in August, defeating four Grand Slam champions on her way to the Canadian Open title.
Mboko continued to shine later in the year, winning her second title at the Hong Kong Open, defeating Leylah Fernandez and Alexandra Eala en route.
Mboko most certainly deserved to win the award, even if there are areas of her game that require improvement.
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The Canadian will hope to build on her superb 2025 season when she competes on the Tour next year after rising over 300 ranking places in 12 months.
Victoria Mboko deserved to win the WTA Newcomer of the Year award over Alexandra Eala
On December 30, 2024, Victoria Mboko was ranked 333 in the world. She is now ranked 18th.
Signs of Mboko’s remarkable rise were clear to all who watched her matches early this year. The Canadian star won 22 consecutive ITF matches without dropping a set, winning four ITF titles.
She won her fifth ITF title of the year in March and had a record of 33-3 by May.
In March, she won her first WTA Tour-level main draw match at the Miami Open. Two months later, she won three French Open qualifying matches and two main draw matches, reaching the third round.
Mboko, who also reached the Wimbledon second round, made her name at the Canadian Open, winning the tournament despite being a wildcard entry.
Simply put, no other player has enjoyed a greater season than Mboko among the nominees for the Newcomer of the Year award. Those nominees are Alexandra Eala, Lois Boisson, Maya Joint, Iva Jovic and Eva Lys.
Eala reached the Miami Open semi-finals and won her first WTA title, Jovic won her first event in Guadalajara and Joint has won two WTA Tour titles this year.
Boisson also climbed up the rankings after her superb run to the French Open semi-finals, while Eva Lys has also enjoyed an impressive season, entering the top 100 for the first time.
However, these achievements pale in comparison to Mboko’s.
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What did Victoria Mboko say after winning the Canadian Open?
After triumphing in Montreal, Mboko admitted that she was ‘super content’ after winning only one round.
She said:”I was super happy to be playing in Montreal for the first time ever. I just remember feeling nervous, but really taking in the moment as much as I possibly could.
“When I won my first round, I was super happy and super content.
“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.”
She added: “It’s been an incredible week here in Montreal. I also want to thank Naomi [Osaka] for an incredible match. I’ve always looked up to her when I was really little, so it’s always great to play with an amazing player like you.
“Lastly, I want to thank every single one of you who came to support me throughout this whole week.
“You guys were incredible, and I couldn’t be more grateful.”
