How Victoria Mboko stunned the tennis world to win her 1st career title

Watching how Victoria Mboko sliced through the National Bank Open competition and took down four Grand Slam winners to her first WTA title, it's hard to imagine the 18-year-old Canadian was once nervous before tennis matches and easily flustered on the court.

Following a stunning and memorable victory over former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka in Montreal, Mboko discussed on Monday how she wanted 2025 to be different on the court after finishing last year ranked 350th.

"I wanted to have a different mindset going into this year. I wanted to be very confident with myself, confident with my team and comfortable. I wanted to have a good support system," Mboko told Anastasia Bucsis at CBC Sports headquarters in Toronto, just 57 kilometres east of her native Burlington, Ont.

"I think sometimes in tennis, the mental aspect is almost more important than what you're able to produce on court and your talent and ability to do something. If you have a clear mindset of what you want to do, nothing's going to stop you."

Making strides at controlling her emotions, Mboko noted, has been a key element of her improvement.

"On court, a lot of thoughts are racing through my head but when you're positive with yourself and stay comfortable and confident, you don't think about it too much. When you don't think and [just] play, it's going good," added the American-born daughter of Congolese parents, who is now ranked 24th and higher than any other Canadian singles player.

As she raised the National Bank Open trophy before an appreciative crowd of 11,000 at IGA Stadium last Thursday evening, Mboko understood it was a special moment in tennis history. She became the third Canadian to win the hometown tournament in the Open Era, joining Bianca Andreescu