“I don't want to set these unrealistic standards for myself”: Victoria Mboko explains her mindset as rankings soar

Victoria Mboko spoke about her victory over Madison Keys in the quarter-finals of the Adelaide International. The Canadian knocked out the defending champion—earning the second Top 10 win of her career—and advanced to her first semi-final of the season.

The 19-year-old has enjoyed a simply remarkable rise over the past year. At the beginning of 2025, she was ranked world No. 337, but she is now sitting at No. 17 in the WTA rankings—with very few points to defend in the coming months.

Mboko has already established herself as one of the standout names on the WTA Tour and a rival nobody wants to face. In the Adelaide quarter-finals, she eliminated the defending champion—and 2025 Australian Open champion—Madison Keys, after nearly two hours of a three-set battle, winning 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.

“Well, it's not easy playing a top-10 player. Of course, going into the match I knew Madi was going to be very difficult to play, so I wanted to bring my A game,” the world No. 17 said after the match in her press conference. “I just stayed really focused from the beginning. She had her moments. I had my moments. But at the end of the day I was glad I was able to pull out the win and get the job done.”

Responding to the media, Mboko highlighted her opponent’s aggressive game and admitted that despite the victory, she never truly felt in control of the match. “Actually, not really. I feel like she hits a pretty heavy ball, and pretty hard. I felt like I was kind of trying to stay in there with her as much as I can, that was my mentality at least,” said the 2025 Canadian Open champion. “She hits a pretty strong ball, and all I was thinking in that moment was just to try to stay low and try to redirect as much as I could, and try to, yeah, either make her miss first or have a good opportunity to take control.”

Mboko’s strong results have been consistent since the end of the 2025 season. Her Adelaide campaign has featured high-level opponents: Beatriz Haddad Maia, Anna Kalinskaya and now Keys—all defeated in three-set matches.

The Canadian—who continues her preparation for the Australian Open—acknowledged that she will need to learn how to handle greater pressure at big events, no longer as just a newcomer, but as a name that is already established on Tour.

“I mean, it comes with all the players, it's not just me. That's the beauty of the game. I mean, if you're going to do well you're going to have expectations, so it's a positive thing at the end of the day. I don't want to take it in a way where you have to win or you have to do this, but you just want to always improve each day.”

“I feel like I'm at the very beginning of my career, so I don't want to set these unrealistic standards for myself,” Mboko added. “But of course I want to do well for myself, and I want to perform well.”

In the tournament semi-finals, Mboko will face Australian surprise Kimberly Birrell (No. 107), who eliminated Anastasia Potapova and Jaqueline Cristian, in addition to benefiting from the withdrawal of Marketa Vondrousova. Birrell and Mboko have met before at the Canadian Open, during the teenager’s title-winning run.

“I played her in the first round of Montreal last year. She's a super solid player. I'm expecting a big fight tomorrow,” said the 19-year-old Canadian. “She also has the crowd advantage, so that's good for her. But I'm going to just go in the match like I do every other match, and just stay right in there, try to play my game, and just have fun on court.”

Mboko will have the chance to reach the third final of her career. After winning titles in Montreal and Hong Kong, lifting the trophy in Adelaide would see her break into the Top 15 for the first time.