Victoria Mboko +3 in WTA Rankings as she seals two milestones at Hong Kong Open

Ewan West 31 Oct 2025 12:20 PM

Victoria Mboko during her match

Victoria Mboko has unlocked two career ranking milestones by overcoming Anna Kalinskaya to reach the semi-finals at the 2025 Hong Kong Tennis Open.

In what was the first meeting between the pair, Mboko was leading 6-1, 3-1 when world No 35 Kalinskaya was forced to retire due to physical issues.

Mboko, the current world No 21, was already projected to reach a new career-high ranking, but she has now ensured she will make a more significant jump when the rankings update.

Victoria Mboko clinches ranking milestones in Hong Kong

Victoria Mboko reached the semi-finals at the Hong Kong Tennis Open as Anna Kalinskaya was forced to retire in the pair’s quarter-final
The 19-year-old has guaranteed that she will move up three places to a new career-best ranking of world No 18
Mboko’s latest victory means she will end the 2025 season as the Canadian No 1 ahead of Leylah Fernandez

Mboko started the quarter-final encounter at the WTA 250 tournament by saving a break point in the opening game and she broke Kalinskaya to take a 3-1 lead.

The Canadian then fought off two break points to hold for 4-1 before breaking her 26-year-old Russian opponent again to go up 5-1.

After Mboko served the set out, Kalinskaya had her vitals checked by the tournament doctor.

Kalinskaya staved off a break point to hold in the first game of the second set, but she lost her next service game to fall 1-2 behind.

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Mboko then held from 0-40 to take a 3-1 lead, after which Kalinskaya took a medical timeout to have her vitals checked again. This time, the Russian was unable to continue and awarded the win to Mboko.

Mboko’s ranking rise

Prior to her quarter-final against Kalinskaya, Mboko had climbed one position to a projected career-high ranking of 20th in the Live WTA Rankings.

By progressing to the semi-finals, Mboko has moved onto 2,005 points, which has lifted her above Elise Mertens and Karolina Muchova into 18th place.

Mboko is guaranteed to be the world No 18 when the WTA Rankings update next week as no player can overtake her, and she cannot move up any further — even if she wins the title.

By achieving this, the 19-year-old has ensured she will finish the 2025 season as the Canadian women’s No 1, having been in contention with Leylah Fernandez — who is also still in action in Hong Kong.

Fernandez started the week as the world No 22, but she is currently 23rd in the Live Rankings due to points she is defending from the same event last year. The 23-year-old can climb to as high as 19th place if she secures the title in Hong Kong.

If Mboko had lost in the quarter-finals, Fernandez could have overtaken her by winning the title in Hong Kong.