Victoria Mboko claims triple honour as Auger-Aliassime secures Player of the Year at Tennis Canada Awards

The ATP world No. 5 Felix Auger-Aliassime and the WTA world No. 18 Victoria Mboko were honored with the Tennis Canada’s Players of the Year awards, after finishing as the No. 1 players in their respective countries and achieving the best seasons of their careers.

The winning players of the Tennis Canada year-end awards were announced this Tuesday. The awards honored the best players of the season—in both singles and doubles—in addition to the most improved players, the best junior player, and the wheelchair tennis players of the year.

The big winner of the day was the 19-year-old Mboko, who took home three awards. The teenager made an impressive jump on the Tour, after starting the year at world No. 337, climbing to No. 18 by the end of the season. While she competed in W35 and W75 category tournaments during the first part of the year, she managed to make the leap to WTA-level tournaments, claiming two titles – including the WTA 1000 Canadian Open, becoming the second Canadian woman to do so in the Open Era, following Bianca Andreescu in 2019.

"Canadian tennis had an exceptional season that will undoubtedly be etched in memories for many years to come," commented the Chief Executive Officer of Tennis Canada, Gavin Ziv. "Victoria [Mboko], who was our Junior Player of the Year just three years ago, has already climbed into the Top 20. Her feat at our flagship tournament, the National Bank Open presented by Rogers, stirred the passion of our country and captivated the global sporting world."

Mboko had a streak of 20 consecutive wins in the initial part of the year—between January and February, winning four titles. By mid-March, she reached her 5th title (two W75 and three W35), with a record of 25-1 so far. She had already moved to the edge of the Top 150 when she debuted at the Miami Open, surprising everyone with her first WTA 1000 victory by defeating former world No. 33 Camila Osorio.

In the second round, she was defeated by Paula Badosa—in the third-set tie-break, in a memorable match where the Spaniard showed her frustration with the teenager's level. "I do not know what i need to do, she plays better than Aryna Sabalenka," said the former world No. 2 to her technical team during the match, where the Canadian demonstrated that she was ready to challenge the best players in the world.

With sustained progress throughout the year, the breakthrough arrived at the beginning of August. In an epic run at the Canadian Open, she defeated three Grand Slam champions on her way to the final: Sofia Kenin (23rd), Coco Gauff (1st), and Elena Rybakina (9th), setting up a final match against 4-time major champion Naomi Osaka. Mboko achieved a comeback from a set down to claim the title 2-6, 6-4, 6-1. Her second title would come in her final tournament of the year at the Hong Kong Open, defeating rivals like Kalinskaya and Leylah Fernandez en route to her first WTA 250 title.

The 19-year-old star thus claimed the women's category awards for "Player of the Year," "Singles Player of the Year," and "Most Improved Player."

The men’s award went to none other than world No. 5 Felix Auger-Aliassime, who returned to the Top 10 in the final part of the year. Since the beginning of August—at the Cincinnati Masters—he accumulated 24 wins and only 7 losses, a statistic that is highlighted when considering that five of those defeats were against Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz.

Auger-Aliassime won three ATP 250 titles this season, was runner-up at the Paris Masters and Dubai, and reached the semifinals in 6 other tournaments – including the US Open and the ATP Finals. "Félix, who excels year after year, surpassed himself in 2025 by breaking into the Top 5, thus becoming only the second Canadian to achieve this feat in singles,” mentioned the Tennis Canada chief. “What a pleasure to see these young athletes reach new heights! Their influence on the growth of tennis in Canada is invaluable.”

Felix took home the men's category awards for "Player of the Year" and "Singles Player of the Year."

Other notable winners include Gabriel Diallo as the male "Most Improved Player," starting the year at No. 89 and climbing to No. 33 this season. The 24-year-old also claimed his first ATP title on the grass courts of 's-Hertogenbosch. In the doubles category, the award winners were world No. 10 Gabriela Dabrowski for the women, and world No. 94 Cleeve Harper for the men.

"Congratulations to Victoria and Félix, as well as to all the other Excellence Award recipients — Gabriela Dabrowski, Gabriel Diallo, Cleeve Harper, Nadia Lagaev, Nicolas Arseneault, Thomas Venos, and Shawn Courchesne — for contributing to a truly spectacular year for Canadian tennis," stated the Tennis Canada chief. "We wish you much success in 2026 and look forward to seeing you back on the courts."