“Must be considered a threat”: Martina Navratilova, Marion Bartoli names player who would prove to be a surprise package at US Open

Canada’s Victoria Mboko has been a real inspiring story from the tennis world. The 18-year-old recently lifted her first major title in her young career. Mboko won the Canadian Open, where she lifted the title after beating the former world number one, Japan’s Naomi Osaka, in the final with a score of 2-6, 6-4, 6-1.

On her way to a WTA 1000 title in Montreal, Mboko defeated four Grand Slam winners, including Osaka. In the second round of the competition, Mboko defeated the 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-3.

In the fourth round, Mboko got the better of the reigning French Open champion and the top-seeded fellow American player Coco Gauff in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 6-4. In the semifinals, Mboko came back from a set down and saved match points before eventually coming out on top against the former Wimbledon champion, Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina, with a score of 1-6, 7-6, 7-5.

Those victories pushed Mboko to the 24th spot in the updated WTA rankings, which put her in a position to start the upcoming US Open as one of the seeded players. The fourth and final Grand Slam of the year will begin on August 24 in New York. Ahead of the competition, former world number one Martina Navratilova and the 2013 Wimbledon winner Marion Bartoli were asked in an interview with Sky Sports about which player they believe will be the surprise package for the upcoming mega-event. In response to that, both individuals are named Mboko.

“After Montreal I'd say Victoria Mboko has announced her arrival loud and clear and must be considered a threat to go deep,” said Navratilova. “Mboko big time,” was the response of Bartoli. It will be interesting to see whether Mboko will be able to live up to the expectations of former big-name players like Navratilova and Bartoli, that too in a competition where she has never played before.

Mboko, while speaking to the media after lifting the Canadian Open, explained how special it was to win her first big title, that too in a year where, not so long ago, she was playing in ITF events. Mboko also revealed how she had to go for an X-ray after suffering a wrist injury in the semifinal of the competition, which was on the morning of the final. During the same conversation, she stated that she will not be taking part in the recently concluded Cincinnati Open to recover completely from a wrist injury.

"I can't find the words to describe this day. It was very eventful,” said Mboko. “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. 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.”

Mboko further went on to explain how special it was for her to win a title on home soil. She also explained that she believes in keeping things simple. “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.”