Canadian starlet Victoria Mboko has swept through to the second round of the Canadian Open, defeating Kimberly Birrell 7-5 6-3.
The 18-year-old has enjoyed a breakout 2025 season on the WTA Tour, and she is showing no signs of slowing down.
The Canadian has won five ITF titles this year and has recorded multiple impressive victories at significant events this year.
In 2025, Mboko has won matches at the Miami Open and Italian Open, while also reaching the second round of Wimbledon.
At the French Open, Mboko came through three rounds of qualifying, and two main draw matches to reach the third round.
Following her opening victory in Montreal, Mboko discussed one particular match this year: a defeat to Coco Gauff.
Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty ImagesVictoria Mboko hopes to play Coco Gauff at the Canadian Open
After her victory against Birrell, Mboko was asked about a potential meeting between herself and French Open champion Coco Gauff in the round of 16 in Canada.
The pair played each other at the Italian Open earlier this year, with Gauff triumphing 3-6 6-2 6-1.
Mboko said: “Yeah I mean it’d be really fun to play Coco again. The last time I played her was in Rome and it was a very difficult match for me.
“But, you know, she’s an amazing player and to play great players like her it’s always a great opportunity, it’s always a lot of fun for me.
Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images
“So to face against her would be really, really nice again and I mean, hopefully that could happen.”
Gauff faces compatriot Danielle Collins in the round of 64, while Mboko has a tough test against former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.
In the round of 32, Gauff could face 29th seed Olga Danilovic. Mboko will likely encounter 14th seed Diana Shnaider if she defeats Kenin.
Mboko ‘surprised’ by serving performance
Mboko served excellently during her opening round win in Canada, serving 15 aces and winning a remarkable 79 per cent of her second-serve points.
The Canadian also won 70 per cent of her first-serve points and converted three of six break-point opportunities.
Mboko said of her serving: “I kind of surprised myself a little bit in the match where I was serving really well. I just wanted to have a really good first serve percentage, honestly in the whole match, but I didn’t know I was going to serve like that.
“But it gave me a lot of advantages and a lot of free points, so I think that also was a big factor in the match to help me gain those points where I really needed them and yeah, hopefully I can continue like that.”