Australian WTA player says what Victoria Mboko is really like as a person after watching her win the Canadian Open

Victoria Mboko made her breakthrough in Montreal, announcing herself as a true contender in the women’s game.

Beginning the year ranked outside the world’s top 300, few would’ve predicted the remarkable rise Mboko would embark on over the next eight months.

Advancing through qualifying to win matches at both the French Open and Wimbledon, Mboko proved she can hang with the very best on the WTA Tour.

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Taking her game to another level in Montreal, Mboko defeated three former Grand Slam champions, Sofia Kenin, Coco Gauff, and Elena Rybakina, en route to her maiden tour-level final.

There, Mboko beat Naomi Osaka in a three-set thriller to lift the Canadian Open title, becoming a WTA 1000 champion at the age of 18.

Reacting to Mboko’s stunning victory, an Australian player, who faced the teenager twice last year, has revealed what she is really like behind the scenes.

Jaimee Fourlis says Victoria Mboko is a ‘really sweet girl’ and works hard

During the latest episode of ‘The Tennis’, Australian world number 396 Jaimee Fourlis recalled her first impressions of Mboko from when they played each other on the ITF [International Tennis Federation] Tour in 2024.

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“The cool thing about this, I actually played her this time last year, so I’ve seen her transition throughout the ranks and watched her progress, the hard work she puts out on the court, especially with her coach,” said Fourlis.

“She had a French coach at the time, not sure who she’s working with at the moment, but any time she stepped out on the court, she worked hard.”

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Fourlis then explained what Mboko did so effectively against her in their two career meetings.

“She has a lot of skills, can play the slice, very big serve,” she said.

“When I played her, one of the toughest things was, I couldn’t read her serve, and usually I’m quite good at that and enjoy trying to find the cues, but I couldn’t read anything about her serve.

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“So yeah, she’s shot up the rankings incredibly quickly. It’s been really good to see.”

The Australian proceeded to comment on what Mboko is really like as a person.

“She’s actually a really nice girl as well, she’s really sweet,” said Fourlis.

Mboko impressed everyone with her win in Montreal, Fourlis included, although the 25-year-old did mention the pressure is now on the Canadian.

“Victoria Mboko has definitely caught my eye and definitely caught the eye of the world, winning her first WTA title in Montreal last week, home country, which was really cool, defeating four Grand Slam champions along the way. Incredible run, doing it in front of friends and family,” said Fourlis.

“Has shot up the rankings really quickly, started the year at 350, and is now 24 in the world and going to be seeded for this year’s US Open. So I think that’s incredible, pressure is definitely on.”

Mboko’s win was, unfortunately, at least to some degree, overshadowed by the controversy surrounding the post-match speeches in Montreal.

Runner-up Osaka failed to mention Mboko during her speech, a move that was met with widespread criticism.

Giving their verdicts on the incident, Fourlis and Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley weighed in.

Jaimee Fourlis was ‘a little bit disappointed’ in Naomi Osaka for her post-match speech

Fourlis, offering up a player’s perspective, shared her thoughts on Osaka’s brief post-match speech.

“From a player’s perspective, a little bit disappointed in terms of [Naomi] Osaka’s reaction,” she said.

“I know it’s hard after you’ve just lost a final, but everyone’s been through it.

“Osaka’s played in multiple Slams, multiple big tournaments. She’s won them, she’s lost them, so I would’ve thought it would’ve been better to be a better person.”

Showing some grace to the four-time Slam winner, Tiley wasn’t prepared to criticize Osaka for her speech.

“In the player’s defence, there’s a tremendous amount of pressure and you respond in those moments, and I think there has to be sometimes a little bit of appreciation for what players are going through with the wins and the losses,” he said.

“Obviously, they’ve got to play their part the best they possibly can, but sometimes it doesn’t happen.

“We’ve had moments here where someone hasn’t wanted to speak and they’ve got to go up and say a few words, it’s hard.”

Both players will make their return to action at the US Open, looking to put the incident behind them.

The 2025 US Open is scheduled to begin on Sunday, August 24.

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