Victoria Mboko unlocks new career milestone as she closes in on year-end Canadian No 1 ranking
Victoria Mboko has secured a new career-high in the rankings following her first-round win at the Hong Kong Open – and she could achieve another milestone with a run to the latter stages of the tournament.
The 19-year-old has been one of the breakout stars of the 2025 WTA Tour season as she started the year at No 33 in the WTA Rankings, but has surged into the top 30 on the back of her incredible run at the Canadian Open.
Playing in the main draw of her home WTA 1000 event for the first time, Mboko pulled off a series of upset wins as she beat Grand Slam winners Sofia Kenin, Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina to reach her maiden top-level final.
Facing former world No 1 and four-time major winner Naomi Osaka in the final, the teenager – who was still 18 at the time – beat the Japanese star to become the second wildcard in the Open Era after Monica Seles in 1995 to win the tournament.
But she had a dip in form after her title run as she lost her opening matches at the US Open, China Open, Wuhan Open and Ningbo Open before finally getting back on track with a run to the quarter-final at the Pan Pacific Open.
And she made it three wins in the space of two weeks with a 6-7 (2-7), 6-1, 6-4 victory over Talia Gibson in Hong Kong.
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Third seed Mboko started the week at No 21 in the WTA Rankings, but with the win she has climbed one place in the Live Rankings to crack the top 20 for the first time in her career.
A bigger test awaits as she will face either Katie Boulter or Alex Eala in the second round of the WTA 250 event, but victory will see her edge closer to securing the Canadian year-end No 1 spot in the rankings.
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Following her win over Gibson, Mboko moved to 1,937 points, and if she gets past Boulter or Eala, she will have 1,961 points while a quarter-final will see her move to 1,961 and a semi-final to 2,005.
The second-seeded Leylah Fernandez – who defeated Xiy Wang in 6-1, 6-4 in her opening match – is her rival for the Canadian top spot honour, but she will need to win the title if she is deny Mboko the title.
The 2021 US Open runner-up recently reclaimed the Canadian No 1 title from Mboko after she won the Japan Open, but the teenager was back at the top after her run in Tokyo.
Fernandez currently sits on 1,777 points and she can only achieve a maximum of 1,973 points if she lifts the trophy. Fernandez will be on 1,821 with a run to the semi-final and 1,866 if she finishes runner-up.
But there is an added twist as the two Canadians could meet in the semi-final.
