WTA roundup: Canadian teen Victoria Mboko wins title in Montreal

Mboko’s Montreal Masterpiece: Teenager Topples Osaka to Win Home-Soil Crown

Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko completed one of the season’s most memorable breakout runs by defeating four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 to claim the National Bank Open title in Montreal. The 18-year-old from Burlington, Ontario, becomes only the third Canadian woman—after Faye Urban in 1969 and Bianca Andreescu in 2019—to win her country’s premier event, and she does so with her first WTA trophy of any kind. Mboko’s path to the championship was littered with marquee scalps, most notably a straight-sets stunner of world No. 1 Coco Gauff in the round of 16 and a come-from-behind semifinal triumph over No. 9 Elena Rybakina.

Thursday’s final swung on Mboko’s refusal to flinch in pressure moments. Although Osaka dominated the opener, the match soon devolved into a tug-of-war of service breaks—14 in 25 games. Mboko seized eight of nine break chances and erased seven of the 13 she faced, reeling off the final five games of the decider before collapsing to her knees in disbelief. Osaka, chasing her first title since the 2021 Australian Open, offered a terse, tearful speech that conspicuously omitted congratulations for the new champion. The rankings will tell the story soon enough: Mboko, who began the week outside the top 125, will soar to No. 25 on Monday and, in the process, give Canadian tennis a new star to celebrate.

Cincinnati Curtain-Raiser: Bouzas Maneiro Ousts Venus as Opening-Day Drama Unfolds

At the Cincinnati Open, Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro spoiled the return of 45-year-old icon Venus Williams, dispatching the seven-time major champion 6-4, 6-4 in the first round. Williams, competing on a singles wild card after more than a year away, showed flashes of vintage power but ultimately succumbed to Bouzas Maneiro’s relentless baseline aggression, particularly off the forehand wing. Venus is expected to shift her focus to mixed doubles at the upcoming US Open, where she plans to partner Reilly Opelka.

The opening session produced three gripping three-set battles. Romania’s Sorana Cirstea steadied after a mid-match lapse to defeat Croatia’s Donna Vekic 6-1, 4-6, 6-3. Mexico’s Renata Zarazua overturned a one-set deficit against Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva, prevailing 3-6, 6-4, 6-2. Germany’s Eva Lys needed every ounce of resolve to edge American Bernarda Pera 6-2, 4-6, 7-5. Elsewhere, Australians Maya Joint and former Wimbledon finalist Marketa Vondrousova advanced, as did Russia’s Anastasia Potapova, Japan’s Aoi Ito, Serbia’s Olga Danilovic, Germany’s Tatjana Maria and young Americans Clervie Ngounoue and Peyton Stearns. With the top seeds set to join the draw on Tuesday, Bouzas Maneiro’s composure—and Mboko’s Montreal heroics to the north—serve as vivid reminders that youthful momentum can upend any tournament narrative.