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Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko defeated four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 on Thursday, ending a fairytale run at the Canadian Open with her maiden WTA title.
At 18 years old and competing in her first WTA final, Mboko prevented Osaka from securing her first tour-level title since the 2021 Australian Open, outlasting the 27-year-old Japanese, who has faced challenges in finding rhythm after returning from maternity leave earlier in 2024.
Starting the season ranked outside the top 300 and advancing to 85th place before the week began, Mboko is now anticipated to rise to 34th in world rankings.
Before an excited centre-court crowd of 11,000, she converted eight of her nine break points, marking her fourth victory of the week against a Grand Slam champion.
“It feels unbelievable right now,” Mboko said, adding that “words cannot really describe how the day went.”
She eliminated former Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin in the second round and defeated reigning French Open titleholder Coco Gauff in the fourth round before fighting off a match point to win over former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the semi-finals.
Osaka, displaying her classic power and accuracy, gave her less experienced rival minimal space to operate in the first set, breaking early to establish a 3-0 lead and securing the set when Mboko, who committed 22 unforced errors in that set, lost her serve a second time due to two misfired forehands.
Mboko changed the momentum in a second set that included seven breaks of serve. Osaka appeared flustered as Mboko increased the intensity, breaking her at love for a 5-2 advantage.
However, when serving for the set, Mboko faltered with three double faults and was broken. Osaka took advantage of the opportunity, holding serve at love, but Mboko captured the set in the following game as Osaka sent a forehand long on set point.
Osaka seemed disheartened, getting broken at love to start the third set.
Though Mboko, who tallied 13 double faults in the match, failed to maintain the break, Osaka found herself in trouble again during the third game, receiving a warning for angrily hitting a ball into the sky after missing her first serve on break point, which she lost with another wayward forehand. That moment triggered a streak of five consecutive games won by Mboko.
Both players struggled to find winners, and after Mboko saved four break points to hold for a 3-1 lead, Osaka faced an uphill battle that ultimately proved insurmountable.
When Osaka hit a backhand into the net on match point, Mboko collapsed to the court as the crowd, who had supported her throughout the match with chants of “Allez Vicky,” erupted in another round of applause.
Osaka, who entered the tournament ranked 49th in the world, had looked revitalised in Montreal following a coaching change but couldn’t sustain her upbeat demeanour as Mboko surged to victory.
