Victoria Mboko on what stood out to her after reviewing defeat to Aryna Sabalenka
Photo by Karim JAAFAR / AFP via Getty Images Victoria Mboko has worked her way up the rankings over the past year, steadily establishing herself as a real presence on tour. It’s been a remarkable rise since she first broke through in 2025. The 19-year-old already has two titles under her belt, including an emotional WTA 1000 win at home in Canada.
In January, Mboko went head-to-head with Aryna Sabalenka for the first time, meeting the world number one in the fourth round of the Australian Open. She lost in straight sets, 6-1, 7-6, but took positives from the experience. This time around it was much closer and showed that despite being beaten again by Sabalenka there had been progress made by Mboko.
Victoria Mboko speaks on her second match against Aryna Sabalenka Photo by Marcio Machado/Getty Images Mboko had opened up about her quarter-final defeat to Sabalenka at Indian Wells, following a win in her first match at the Miami Open. She told Tennis Channel: “I mean, playing her again, of course, I knew what to expect. And then again, it was another time on the centre court, so that was pretty cool.
“I felt that I kind of knew her balls, and I knew how she kind of liked to play. So I felt like I had a little bit of a different plan going into the match. And I just tried to stay in there as much as we could.
“You know, in the first set, we were just holding each other’s serve. I had a lot of opportunities. She had a lot of opportunities.