Victoria Mboko continued her incredible journey at the WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal with a dominant quarterfinal win. The 18-year-old Canadian defeated Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-4, 6-2 on Monday night to enter the semifinals.
Mboko, playing in just her seventh WTA main draw event, has now won five matches in a row in Montreal. Her victory over Bouzas Maneiro comes on the heels of a major upset against top seed and Roland Garros champion Coco Gauff in the previous round.
She is now the youngest player in a decade to reach the semifinals at the Canadian WTA 1000. Belinda Bencic last achieved this in 2015, and she was only 183 days older than Mboko is now.
Mboko also made history by becoming the third player in the Open Era to reach her first WTA semifinal at this event. Additionally, she is the first Canadian to do so in Montreal, with Faye Urban and Bianca Andreescu achieving it earlier in Toronto.
“To have such an achievement at a tournament like this is really a milestone for me,” Mboko said.
“I’m just so happy that I’ve got to have this whole experience in Montreal. Overall I don’t have many words to say, but I just feel so content and so happy.”
Five Breaks of Serve Seal the Deal
Mboko displayed confidence and control in her match against world No. 51 Bouzas Maneiro. She broke her opponent’s serve five times and won the final six games to close the match in 72 minutes.
Her performance makes her the third teenager in 2025 to reach a WTA 1000 semifinal. Mirra Andreeva and Alexandra Eala did so earlier this year in Indian Wells and Miami. This marks the first time since 2009 that three teenagers have made such deep runs in WTA 1000 events within the same season.
Mboko Eyes Revenge Against Rybakina
Victoria Mboko now stands one win away from reaching the final of her home WTA 1000 tournament. To get there, she must overcome Elena Rybakina—who eliminated her just last week in Washington, D.C., with a 6-3, 7-5 victory.
“I think I just need to maybe up my level a little bit and just to stay in there with her,” Mboko said.
“You know, she has really great groundstrokes, really great serves. So I guess on that day I want to do my best to kind of stay in there with her.”
If she manages to win, Mboko would join Faye Urban and Bianca Andreescu as the only Canadians to make the final of this prestigious tournament in the Open Era.
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