Victoria Mboko meets Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Parliament Hill in recognition of breakout year

Victoria Mboko has been one of the shining lights on the WTA Tour in 2025. A stunning breakout year has seen her shoot up the rankings to become a recognised force in the game. Her work has not gone unnoticed in her home country, as she has been welcomed to Parliament Hill by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

The 19-year-old and family members had made the trip to complete this special visit. They met the Prime Minister at the West Block office, as Carney got a good lock at the Canadian Open trophy she won which propelled her to the outstanding heights she now sits. The Prime Minister said the trophy was a symbol of perseverance, resilience and immense talent. He said Mboko was a great role model and that Canadians are proud of what she has accomplished at a young age.

Following from this, Mboko signed the racket she used to complete this immense feet. Carney was heard saying, "No way!" as he started to play around with it, twirling it for fun. Mboko suggested that he should play with it, but Carney admitted that his game was not that good.

It has been a whirlwind 2025 for Mboko, who started out relatively unknown right down the rankings. Starting the year as the world number 333, the Canadian competed in a number of ITF tournaments. Her talent was there for everyone to see as she won four of the first five events she participated in. She made her WTA 1000 debut in the Miami Open, making it to the second round. Her Grand Slam debut was another impressive result, with people starting to take notice. She reached the third round, taking down Lulu Sun and Eva Lys before the Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen got the better of her.

Despite losing in the qualifying rounds for Wimbledon, she was fortunate to get in as a lucky loser and made the most of it, defeating the 25th seed Magdalena Frech ahead of a second round loss to Hailey Baptiste. After a premature DC Open campaign, she was set to make her debut in the Canadian Open, her home event. After this was completed, her name would be very familiar in the tennis world.

Entered as a wildcard, it was a special moment for Mboko and her family to be competing at this level at such a young age. After three solid opening wins, two-time Grand Slam champion and world number three Coco Gauff stood in her way. This challenge did not faze Mboko one bit as she bypassed the American with flying colours. A quarter-final win over Jessica Bouzas Maneiro placed her against another former major champion in Elena Rybakina. Her incredible journey seemed set to come to an end after Rybakina easily won the first set, but Mboko fought back to set herself up a final showdown against a rejuvenated Naomi Osaka. Once again, she lost the first set her grit and determination poured through, taking the four-time major champion down to win an outstanding title in Montreal.

She shot up the rankings inside the top 30, meaning that she would be a seed for a Grand Slam event, something that seemed almost unthinkable nine months ago. However, her form started to slow down a bit. An early exit at Flushing Meadows was followed by a poor Asian swing. Many people thought that the Canadian Open triumph was just a one-off, but they were proved wrong when Mboko found her touch once more to win the Hong Kong Open. She finishes the year as the world number 18. Her sights are firmly on the start of 2026 as she looks to stick around the top of the game, hoping to continue her crazy ascend.