Victoria Mboko’s victorious breakthrough run rolls on, sets up semifinal revenge clash with Elena Rybakina

Canadian tennis is experiencing another electric moment, and this time, it is 18-year-old Victoria Mboko setting the courts on fire. The Montreal native’s fairytale run at the 2025 Canadian Open continued on Monday night, as she stormed past Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-4, 6-2 to book her place in her first-ever WTA 1000 semifinal.

Playing in front of a loud, flag-waving home crowd, Mboko delivered poise beyond her years, handling the pressure of the big stage like a seasoned pro. Just 12 months ago, she was ranked outside the world’s top 300. Now, with this dazzling performance in Montreal, she’s projected to smash her way into the Top 50.

It is a momentous milestone not just for Mboko, but for Canadian tennis, as she becomes the youngest player from the country in the Open Era to make the semifinals at the event. She also is the youngest woman to make the Canadian Open semifinals in 10 years since Belinda Bencic who completed the feat in 2015.

Next up for Mboko is a blockbuster semifinal clash against former Wimbledon champion and current World No. 9 Elena Rybakina, whom she defeated in straight sets just last week in Washington. With momentum and the Montreal crowd behind her, Mboko will be hungry for revenge.

Victoria Mboko and Jessica Bouzas Maneiro opened with scrappy, high-quality tennis, with the Canadian teenager relying on a solid first serve (68%) and just one double fault compared to Bouzas Maneiro’s three.

The set’s momentum swung decisively in the eighth game after a bit of a slump from the Spaniard where Mboko finally secured a critical break to go up 5-3. Bouzas Maneiro failed to break back immediately and stay in the set, as Mboko slammed the door shut in the next game, to take it 6-4 after 44 gruelling minutes.

After dropping her serve to open the second set, Victoria Mboko looked momentarily rattled, but the Canadian teenager quickly regrouped and delivered her most dominant stretch of the tournament so far.

Bouzas Maneiro broke early to lead 2-0, but from there, it was all Mboko, who rattled off six consecutive games to take the set 6-2 and book her place in the biggest semifinal of her young career.

On return, Mboko crushed Bouzas Maneiro’s second serve, winning a staggering 92% (11 of 12) of those points. That pressure translated into three service breaks from three chances, a clinical conversion that left the Spaniard no room to recover. Mboko also clocked two aces in the set, showing growing confidence and aggression behind her serve, closing out the set in just 34 minutes.

Since 1970, only one other local player has made it to the semifinals of this event: Bianca Andreescu during her 2019 title-winning run. Mboko now joins an elite club of Canadian women, alongside Andreescu, Eugenie Bouchard, and Helen Kelesi, to reach the final four at a Tier 1 or WTA 1000 tournament.

Earlier in the day, Elena Rybakina booked her place in the semifinals after Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk was forced to retire due to a wrist injury, trailing 6-1, 2-1. Rybakina, one of the most consistent performers on tour this year, has already reached five semifinals in 2025, with Montreal marking her 10th career WTA 1000 semifinal.

She beat Mboko 6-3, 7-5 in Washington just last week, but with a roaring Canadian crowd, a week’s worth of confidence, and the sweet scent of revenge in the air, the stage is now set for a fiery rematch.

Regardless of what happens next, Mboko’s magical run has captured the imagination of a nation.