At just 18, Victoria Mboko is still adjusting to life at the highest level of professional tennis — but the Congolese-Canadian teenager is already making a statement in her first full season on tour.
On Sunday, Mboko marked her Grand Slam debut with a 6-1, 7-6 (4) victory over Lulu Sun at the French Open in Paris. The win over the 2024 Wimbledon quarterfinalist means Mboko has taken all eight sets she has played over the past week-plus on the red clay.
“This does, obviously, feel really quick for me. Although it feels quick, I feel like I’m also adapting very quickly. I want to be at this level,” said Mboko, who has been represented by IMG since she was 12. “To adapt really fast is really important to me. The more I make it seem normal to me, the more normal it’s going to be in these tournaments.”
Facing the left-handed Sun on Court 9, Mboko leaned heavily on her serve. With her father and two older siblings watching from the stands, she fired seven aces and reached a top speed of 115 mph. She held all 10 of her service games and saved all seven break points she faced.
“I love to dictate points on my serve, and I love to use that as an opportunity to be more aggressive and be up in the score,” said the world No. 120. “Especially in women’s tennis, having a good serve and holding all the time is pretty crucial. It helps me get out of a lot of sticky situations.”
Growing up, Mboko idolized Serena Williams and sought to model aspects of her game on the 23-time Grand Slam champion’s power and presence.
“I always modeled myself on the idea of her game,” Mboko said. “Of course, not everything I do is the same. But she had such a powerful game, and that’s something that I would love to replicate and present my game off of that. It’s great to have a role model like that and try to do something like she did.”
Mboko began drawing attention earlier this year when she won 22 consecutive matches — all in straight sets — capturing four lower-level ITF titles. She also won her WTA main-draw debut at the Miami Open in March.
Her rise has impressed even established stars. At the Italian Open this month, Mboko pushed 2023 U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff to three sets on clay.
“She’s playing top-level tennis,” Gauff said. “For sure, on the movement, I would say she’s up there with me on that. As far as the other parts of her game, she’s obviously a big hitter, can play well, moves pretty well, has a nice backhand, same on the forehand.”
Although Mboko grew up primarily on indoor hard courts in Canada, she is beginning to feel at home on clay — traditionally considered her least favorite surface.
“In the future? I guess we’ll see. You never know,” she said. “I feel like I’ve been doing pretty OK on the clay so far, even though it was my least favorite surface and I thought it was my worst surface, too. But you never know.”
