Victoria Mboko’s coach reveals key to rising star’s success amid Canadian Open campaign
Victoria Mboko’s coach Nathalie Tauziat has hailed the rising star’s “important” strengths amid her incredible Canadian Open run.
World No 85 Mboko has become just the third wildcard in Canadian Open history to reach the semi-final of the tournament, with the 18-year-old making her tournament debut in Montreal.
After three impressive opening-round wins, Mboko stunned second seed Coco Gauff in the fourth round, picking up the first top-10 win of her career.
The 18-year-old then defeated Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in Monday’s quarter-final, and will take on ninth seed Elena Rybakina in Wednesday’s semi-final, just two weeks after falling to the Kazakh in Washington.
Regardless of how she fares against Rybakina on Wednesday, Mboko will crack the top 50 of the WTA Rankings for the first time when the rankings update post-tournament.
Mboko has been building consistently since the start of the 2025 season, having already risen from outside the top 300 to inside the top 100.
Former world No 3 and 1998 Wimbledon finalist Nathalie Tauziat has been a key figure behind the 18-year-old’s success, initially coaching Mboko as a junior before returning to her team in 2025.
Since Tauziat returned to working with the 18-year-old, Mboko initially won 22 straight matches at ITF level before making round three of the French Open as a qualifier, and then making her Wimbledon debut.
A winner of eight WTA Tour singles titles during her career, Tauziat believes Mboko’s confidence has continued to grow in 2025, and has praised the teen star’s composure and technical ability.
“Since the beginning of the year, she win [sic] so many matches,” said Tauziat.
“I think what is important also for her is to see us not panic when something happen. I remember at the beginning of the year, she always told me: ‘Oh, you’re so calm during the match.’
“I say: ‘You know what, it’s just a match. I mean, I can help you, but if I show you I am on panic myself, I mean, it’s going to be worse for you, so why do you want me to panic? I’m not panicking. It’s just a match, and I’m here to help you.’
“So I think if also all the team stay calm and help her the most we can, she’s not panicking. The way also she’s winning since the beginning of the year, as I said, she plays so many matches, that she can manage that kind of thing right now be.
“I think she believes in herself. I think also, she has the power maybe more. She has a very good serve. Not a lot of players have a good serve. She likes to learn. She likes to improve. So I think it’s important.
“I don’t know what is exactly her goal, but so far, every time she enters the court, it’s for a win. That’s important.”
Mboko is far from the first rising Canadian star Tauziat has worked with, with the Frenchwoman playing a key role in the nation’s success in recent years.
She coached Eugenie Bouchard to the junior Wimbledon title in 2012 and to a first WTA-level final in 2013, and also guided Bianca Andreescu to the junior world No 1 ranking in 2017.
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Tauziat has also spent time working with Leylah Fernandez in the past, and was part of the coaching team that guided the nation to the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup title.
All three of Bouchard, Andreescu, and Fernandez have reached Grand Slam finals, with Andreescu triumphing at the 2019 US Open.
However, all three have failed to back up those runs and have gone on to face significant challenges across their careers.
Mboko has broken through at a similarly young age to her compatriots, and Tauziat is cautious of the 18-year-old’s future targets and ambitions.
She added: “It’s complicated to say because right now, of course, her [Mboko’s] standing is going to change, with the players first.
“After, as I say, some players who rise very high level young, sometimes they lost the priority.
“So what is going to be very important for Vicky is to keep the priority of tennis first over many things around. I think it would be very important for her to stay, and some players don’t do that.
“You can go up, but if you’re not continuing to progress and work hard, I mean, you can go down very quickly.”
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