'Outstanding' Mboko hailed as role model for young Canadian tennis players, girls of colour

After her extraordinary win at the National Bank Open in Montreal, 18-year-old tennis sensation Victoria Mboko is being celebrated as a role model for the next generation of Canadian athletes.

The phenom, who was born in North Carolina and raised in Burlington, Ont., took the National Bank Open title on Thursday after defeating four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the final match.

On Friday, she shot up 61 spots to a career-best No. 24 in the world rankings. She's set to be a seeded player at the U.S. Open in New York, which will begin later this month.

Yosabeth Agonafer of the Alberta-based group Black Girls in Tennis says Mboko's victory on Canadian soil paves the way for more representation of Black Canadian women in tennis.

"It wasn't just about her winning. It was also inspiring for a lot of young women, especially women of colour," Agonafer said in an interview.

"Watching a young Canadian win the title on Canadian soil, I think it's pretty amazing... It's so powerful because it does pave the way for bigger things."

She said many girls of colour look up to athletes like Serena and Venus Williams and Coco Gauff, and it's inspiring to see a Black Canadian player succeed on a big stage.

"It's not (just about) her winning. It is visibility, it's the validation, it's opening doors for young women, for women of colour. I think it just opens the stage globally and shows that it is possible (to win), that excellence has no limits."

Doug Burke, president of ACE Tennis and one of Mboko's coaches during her training days in Burlington, said she is showing younger Canadians of "any colour or upbringing" that it's possible to achieve the heights of success.

"We knew Vicky was out for great things and going up