"It was very eventful": Victoria Mboko shares reason behind visiting hospital before winning Canadian Open final against Naomi Osaka

Canada’s Victoria Mboko’s world turned upside down in the space of two weeks. The 18-year-old started the recently concluded Canadian Open as an unseeded player but went on to lift the title after beating Japan’s Naomi Osaka in the final with a score of 2-6, 6-4, 6-1.

While on her way to her first-ever WTA title at the highest level, Mboko defeated four Grand Slam winners, including Osaka in the final, Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina in the semifinals, top-seeded Coco Gauff in the round of 16 and Sofia Kenin in the second round.

Mboko spoke to WTA’s official website, explaining how she had an injury scare just before the start of the final and had to go for an X-ray and an MRI scan in the morning. "I can't find the words to describe this day. It was very eventful,” she said. “When I woke up this morning, my wrist was a bit swollen because of my fall yesterday. We quickly went to the hospital to get an MRI and an X-ray before I came to practice on the court. Once we got the green light that my wrist wasn't anything serious, I came here, practiced quickly, and got ready for my match.”

Mboko’s journey this year has been one of a roller coaster ride. She was playing in the ITF W35S earlier this year but went on to win a WTA 1000 event just a few months later. Mboko was asked in the same interview what her objective was at the start of the year. In response to that, the 18-year-old stated that she did not have any set goals and focused on playing her best tennis on the court.

“You know what? I feel like I’m a really simple person,” said Mboko. “I really don’t like to put goals on myself. Because you really never know what’s going to happen. I’m a person that loves to live in the moment. The future could look really positive or really negative, so whenever I set goals for myself and don’t come to the expectations that I wanted for myself, you feel disappointed a little bit and you’re not so happy. Just like this week, where I never expected that I was going to win. I also could have lost first round. So, yeah, I like to keep things very simple and calm and I feel like that’s when I’m able to have my best performance.”

Mboko’s victory has now pushed her to as high as 24th in the WTA rankings, which puts her in an ideal spot ahead of the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year, the US Open, which will begin from August 24. Talking about how the night went, Mboko stated that she is ‘super happy’ to lift the title. Mboko also went on to explain that she is now looking forward to taking some rest and not participating in the Cincinnati Open to recover from a wrist injury completely.

“Well, I mean, it was a very eventful night, to be honest,” said Mboko. “I feel super happy that I came out with the victory, especially in my home country. It’s funny, I don’t have many words to say because there are so many emotions going through me right now -- there’s just so much happening. I’m just enjoying the moment for now, and maybe when it wears off I’ll realize what just happened. I don’t have time to really look at the rankings. But that obviously puts a lot of things into perspective. I would never have thought I’d be in the 20s this year, to be honest. That’s a huge milestone for me. Then again, I still don’t like to put huge goals on myself because I don’t know what’s going to happen.I will not be playing Cincinnati. I’ll just go home [to Toronto] and rest up a little bit. I’m going to take care of my wrist. Just do some prevention and recovery and prepare for what’s to come.”