Former WTA player responds when asked if Victoria Mboko is now one of the favorites to win the US Open

Canada has found their next tennis superstar, and her name is Victoria Mboko.

Producing several impressive performances during her breakout 2025 campaign, Mboko quickly gained notoriety as one of the sport’s future stars.

Proving the future is now, Mboko stunned Coco Gauff in the Canadian Open fourth round, picking up the biggest win of her professional career.

Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

Continuing on to beat Jessica Bouzas Maneiro and Elena Rybakina, Mboko booked her place in the Canadian Open final.

Winning her maiden tour-level title, Mboko defeated Naomi Osaka in three sets, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, in front of an ecstatic Montreal crowd.

Reacting to Mboko’s thrilling win, a former WTA star previewed the 18-year-old’s chances at the upcoming US Open.

Naomi Broady responds when asked if Victoria Mboko is a favorite to win the US Open, ‘you have to say so’

Working as a commentator for Sky Sports in Canada, former world number 76 Naomi Broady was asked if she believes Mboko is now a favorite for the US Open title.

“The level she has played this week, you have to say so,” she said.

“We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but it’s hard not to. She is going to be seeded. She is full of confidence.

Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

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“She would be the player I would not want to see next to me in the draw, or in my section. Not anywhere near me.

“Similar conditions as well at the US Open, those lively North American hard courts. She’s so comfortable there.

“There is a lot to deal with; the pressure is now going to come with her. She is not the underdog.”

As Broady rightly mentioned, Mboko will now be seeded in New York, as she is set to jump into the world’s top 32 following her Canadian Open exploits.

Rank Name Nationality Points 23rd Linda Noskova Czech 1,932 24th Naomi Osaka Japanese 1,864 25th Victoria Mboko Canadian 1,835 26th Marta Kostyuk Ukrainian 1,830 27th Leylah Fernandez Canadian 1,818 28th Jelena Ostapenko Latvian 1,805 29th Magdalena Frech Polish 1,766 30th Sofia Kenin American 1,708 31st McCartney Kessler American 1,565 32nd Ashlyn Krueger American 1,544 Snapshot of the Live WTA Rankings

That seeding will give her a boost at Flushing Meadows, as the 18-year-old will avoid her fellow seeded players until the third round at the earliest.

With that in mind, Mboko will surely be in with a good chance of adding a few more Grand Slam wins to her tally when she makes her US Open debut in a couple of weeks’ time.

Victoria Mboko’s Grand Slam record

Mboko made her first appearance at a Grand Slam tournament 80 days ago, when she entered the qualifying event in Paris.

Advancing through qualifying at Roland Garros, she soon picked up her first main draw victories before doing the same at Wimbledon.

Mboko currently holds a 3-2 record at Grand Slams, an impressive statistic for someone of her relative inexperience.

She will no doubt have one eye on picking up some more wins in New York, but first has an important decision to make.

Reaching the final in Canada, Mboko was granted a bye into the second round of the Cincinnati Open, which began on Thursday.

Speaking earlier in the week, Mboko suggested she may withdraw from the Cincinnati Open, depending on how things go in Montreal.

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“Well, right now, I mean, I’m entered in, but I’m not sure,” she said.

“I want to see how I’m going to do here first. It’s still up in the air.”

Winning the title in Montreal, some would say the smart move would be for Mboko to now withdraw from Cincinnati and rest up before making the trip to New York.

There is, of course, a valid counter-argument to be made that Mboko should try to capitalise on this momentum and return to the court as soon as possible.

Whatever she decides, fans will eagerly anticipate her next move, whether that be to compete in the Cincinnati Open and play Diana Shnaider on Saturday, August 9, or to next appear at the US Open, which begins on Sunday, August 24.

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