Victoria Mboko tries to stay grounded as her career takes off

Open this photo in gallery: Victoria Mboko's National Bank Open win has rocketed her up the WTA rankings and put her on the radar of the tennis world. The 18-year-old is trying to stay focused as she heads into the US Open later this month as a ranked player.David Kirouac/Reuters

In the days after Canada’s teenage tennis sensation Victoria Mboko finished captivating a nation with her run to the title at the National Bank Open in Montreal last week, she quietly made the six-hour drive back home to Toronto with her parents and her sister.

No first-class flight or big celebrations out on the town for the breakout 18-year-old, who just toppled four different Grand Slam champs en route to winning her first WTA title, and saw her ranking soar from No. 85 to No. 24. Mboko was just excited to make a rare trip home, for a rest.

“It’s been pretty chill, I’d say,” she said by phone from Toronto on Monday, where she was doing a few interviews.

After falling on her wrist chasing down a ball during her semi-final match against Elena Rybakina last Wednesday, Mboko is taking a little break from the court, to make sure the wrist is OK. While many other tennis stars are playing the Cincinnati Open this week to tune up for the US Open, she is enjoying some down time.

“It was a hard week on the body, so it’s nice to take a little break,” said Mboko. “The wrist is a lot better now, to compare from before. Especially after the matches, it was pretty swollen and kind of painful, but now I’d say it’s pretty good.”

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The teenager did enjoy celebrating right after the final win over Naomi Osaka last Thursday, in the wings of IGA Stadium with her team, family, friends and people from Tennis Canada. She loved it all, except the champagne.

“I did try a little champagne, but I wasn’t very fond of it,” the youngster with a laugh. “It’s not my thing.”

She had stayed in Montreal for an extra day and strolled the city’s Saint-Catherine Street with a friend, popular for its shops and restaurants.

“Quite a lot of people were recognizing me on the street, and I really didn’t expect that,” said Mboko. “Even people in their cars would honk and tell me congratulations. So that was kind of cool.”

She says she enjoyed watching video highlights of some of her performances, but hasn’t been reading stories about herself.

Many have congratulated her, but the kudos from Canadian tennis players like Bianca Andreescu, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Denis Shapovalov and Gabriel Diallo stood out.

“It’s nice to have that kind of camaraderie between us,” said Mboko. “We’re all super close, and it’s just a nice feeling.”

Open this photo in gallery: Mboko holds her trophy after winning the National Bank Open last week at IGA Stadium in Montreal.David Kirouac/Reuters

Canadians have been drawn this summer to the story of this rising WTA player, who was American-born and raised in Canada by parents who came from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Many really jumped onto the journey after she beat World No. 2 Coco Gauff in the Round of 16 in Montreal. That was an important moment for Mboko too.

“When I got into the quarterfinals, after I won the round of 16, I was like, ‘OK, like, you know, you made it further than you expected, so just go for the gold,’” Mboko recalled telling herself.

It’s been a rapid ascent for Mboko, who will turn 19 on Aug. 26, and now can enjoy the upside of being one of the 32 seeded players in the draw at the US Open. While she takes confidence from what she’s achieved, she’s careful not to get ahead of herself.

“I don’t really view the competition as any different now, because I know every single player in the top 100 is really talented,” said Mboko. “But it definitely brings a lot of ease to my draw, because I don’t have to play qualies [qualifiers], and I could play slightly later, I guess.”

She’d been lauded for her mental toughness in Montreal, as she beat players with more experience, rebounded after losing the first set of matches, fought back in games that looked lost and battled through pain. She says she gets that from her dad.

“Yeah, he’s very calm,” she said. “He’s a very relaxed person, so yeah, I think I take from him a little bit.”

There will be pressure, with the increased attention and expectations after winning a WTA Masters 1000-level tournament, one rung below a Grand Slam.

“I don’t like to put pressure or set goals for myself, because anything can happen, and I’m OK with it. That’s sports,” she said.

“My goals are kind of the same. I just want to play the best I can every time I play. Every tournament, I’m always going to be in it to win it.”

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