Canadian tennis up-and-comer Victoria Mboko off to torrid start in 2025

“They were pretty big plates,” Mboko said Friday from Miami during a Tennis Canada video call. “They’re not very nice when they see big trophies or big pieces of metal like that.”

Mboko’s torrid run has included a 22-match – and 43-set – unbeaten streak. Her 20 consecutive main-draw victories also set a new Canadian women’s record on the professional circuit.

She has skyrocketed up the WTA Tour’s world rankings, climbing from No. 350 at the end of 2024 to a career-high No. 188 in singles.

“Every match I play I want to win, and I mean for me to win in two sets makes the match a lot easier,” Mboko said with a smile. “Looking back on it, to have achieved that, it’s kind of surprising for me. I would have never thought that I was going to do something like that.”

The five-foot-nine Mboko describes herself as a big-serving player who likes to be aggressive and dictate points with her forehand.

Tennis Canada announced Thursday that she’ll make her Billie Jean King Cup debut when Canada meets Romania and Japan in qualifiers on April 11 and 13 in Tokyo.

Mboko, who goes by “Vicky,” will also play in her first WTA 1000 main draw – one level beneath the Grand Slams – next week at the Miami Open after receiving a wild-card entry.

She’s staying grounded amid the whirlwind start to her year.

“I like to go day by day,” she said. “It’s a very big and fast change for me, I’m going to start playing some higher-level tournaments. I’m honestly happy to be a little bit higher in the ranking.

“To be able to compete with these players is such a blessing for me, and I’m so excited to see what I can do. Hopefully give some trouble out there.”

The youngest of four siblings, Mboko was born in Charlotte, N.C., before her family, which originally immigrated to North America from the Democratic Republic of Congo, moved to Toronto.

She remembers first picking up a racket at four years old while watching her brothers and sister practise.

“Growing up, all I watched was tennis,” she said. “I felt like I’ve watched tennis more than playing with toys or watching TV. When you grow up in such a tennis environment like that, I only wanted to do the same thing, you know? I didn’t want to be left out.”

As Mboko’s passion for the sport grew, her parents enrolled her in an academy in Burlington, Ont., and she quickly began rising through the ranks.

In 2022, Mboko won the Saskatoon Challenger at 15 for her first professional title and reached a career-high junior ranking of No. 6. She also made the junior doubles finals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon with Kayla Cross of London, Ont.

A serious knee injury that same year, however, slowed her progress. She called it a learning experience.

“I was very young to have an injury (like that). I feel like it’s not very common, but it really made me learn how to take care of my body,” she said. “Spend that extra time warming up, extra time stretching, everything you can do to recover properly.”

Mboko is back to turning heads in 2025, saying her mentality was to treat the season as a “clean slate.” On top of her singles success, Mboko has a 6-1 record and two ITF trophies in doubles.

She’s excited for the challenges that lie ahead.

“It’s going to get harder and my weaknesses are going to get exploited a lot more,” she said. “So to keep improving is also very important for me. Everything’s going to be a lot faster.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 14, 2025.

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Canadian tennis up-and-comer Victoria Mboko off to torrid start in 2025

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