Victoria Mboko backed for a major rankings breakthrough in 2026 by ex-Slam finalist
Former world No 4 Greg Rusedski has revealed he thinks Victoria Mboko is “the next big thing” in women’s tennis as he made a rankings prediction.
Mboko starts the 2026 campaign at a career-high ranking of world No 18, having been ranked 333rd at the start of 2025.
The Canadian was ranked 85th at the end of July before her stunning triumph at the Canadian Open in Montreal in August.
Mboko upset Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina and Naomi Osaka during her run at the WTA 1000 tournament, where she was an 18-year-old wildcard.
She ended her 2025 season by winning the WTA 250 title in Hong Kong — her second career title.
Speaking on his Off Court with Greg podcast, Rusedski backed Mboko to reach another rankings milestone in 2026 as he also issued a bold Grand Slam forecast.
“The breakout player of the year on the WTA Tour: Victoria Mboko. She’s got a phenomenal setup of a team,” said the 1997 US Open runner-up.
“As a Canadian last year, she beat Naomi Osaka in the finals of Montreal; backed that up at the end of the year by winning another title in Hong Kong.
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“I hear the work ethic is unbelievable. She is putting in the hours off court, on court. Great expertise around her. She’s not happy being 18 in the world at 19 years of age.
“She is the real deal. To me, she’s cracking in the top 10, top five [in 2026]. Going to be threatening to go deep at the majors.
“Is she quite ready enough to win a major? Possibly not; I go 2027 when she wins her first major. But she is going to be knocking on the door, she is that good.”
The former British No 1 continued: “[Bianca] Andreescu, remember she won in Toronto and went on to win the US Open. Very similar. How do you deal with the pressure and expectation? She (Mboko) wins her home tournament in Montreal, which was massive in Canada, everybody was talking about it, she couldn’t walk around the street, she’s huge in the country.
“She’s got that swagger, she’s got that game, she’s a nice person, she’s got the weapons, and she’s a phenomenal athlete. The serve can keep on getting better. There’s so many aspects of her game. And the nice thing is, she’s got a great set of people around her.
“So for me, the sky is the limit. I think she could be the next big thing for the WTA Tour.”
Rusedski was born in Montreal and represented Canada until he changed nationality to British in 1995.
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