Canada’s Victoria Mboko stuns No. 1 seed Coco Gauff to reach NBO quarterfinals

Victoria Mboko of Canada waves to the crowd following her win over Coco Gauff of the United States during round of 16 tennis action at the National Bank Open in Montreal, Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi)

Even Victoria Mboko couldn’t believe what she achieved.

It was billed as the tournament’s marquee match. A rising Canadian star — and last remaining singles hope from the host country — facing her stiffest test yet against the No. 1 seed.

And she blew past her in just 62 minutes.

Mboko’s stellar run at the National Bank Open hit a new level Saturday with a dominant 6-1, 6-4 victory over Coco Gauff of the United States, lifting the 18-year-old from Toronto into the quarterfinals before a raucous, sellout crowd at IGA Stadium.

“I don’t even know what to say,” said Mboko, smiling in disbelief. “I was shocked about it all. Everything came so fast. There were so many people. I feel like tonight I’ll let it soak in a little bit more, but I’m still on the high a little bit.”

The whole year has been a high.

Mboko’s ranking rocketed to 85th in the world this week after she began the year outside the top 300. That number is projected to jump into the 50s with her performance in Montreal, and her rise appears unlikely to end there.

After major crowd support for Eugenie Bouchard early in the tournament, the buzz in Montreal shifted around Mboko as the teenage sensation took centre court.

Mboko met the moment, flashing the powerful groundstrokes and blistering serve that few opponents have had answers for on the pro circuit this season.

“Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Olé, Olé, Olé!” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today.”

“When I was up 5-4, the crowd started cheering even louder, and everything got super noisy,” she later added. “I used that as more fuel for myself and to pump myself up a little bit more. I just used the crowd to my advantage as much as I could.”

Gauff, meanwhile, made unforced error after unforced error, firing some shots long and many more into the net.

Mboko, who will play Jéssica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain, saved all four breakpoint opportunities while converting four of her five chances.

She also won nearly 60 per cent of the points, her 11 unforced errors half of Gauff’s 22 on a dismal night for the American star.

The youngster is only the second teenager — and first Canadian — to defeat Gauff, as well as the first player this season to not drop a single service game against her.

“I knew she would come in with a lot of confidence,” Gauff said. “I knew that it would be tough. I don’t know, I just felt like I could do better today, but I also knew that if I took my foot off the gas a little bit, that she would take advantage of those moments, and she did.

“She’s playing high-level tennis. I think that’s what showed today. I think she was the better player.”

The first set took a swift 25 minutes.

The 21-year-old Gauff double-faulted on the third point of the match, leading to an early break for the Canadian. In the seventh game, Gauff doubled-faulted and sent two shots into the net in succession to lose the set.

When the two players previously met at the Italian Open in May, Mboko also took the opening set but Gauff convincingly won the next two to snag the victory.

This time around, Mboko kept her foot on the gas.

“I was actually really thinking about it a lot during the match,” she said. “I had flashbacks to when I played her in Rome a little bit. I just remember when she came out playing even better and stepped it up a bit better.

“Wanted to step my game up a little bit more and make sure I matched whatever she was producing, and I wanted to stay right there with her.”

Gauff, this year’s French Open champion, scraped by with three-set wins in Rounds 2 and 3. She struggled with her serve, striking a whopping 37 double faults in the two matches combined — adding six more on Saturday.

Tied 3-3, she earned three breakpoint chances with the match tied 3-3, but committed an error each time as Mboko hung on to win the game.

Then with Mboko leading 5-4, Gauff doubled-faulted twice more to set up two match points for the Canadian, who quickly took advantage.

It’s the latest chapter in a breakthrough season for Mboko, who also played in her first two Grand Slam main draws, reaching the French Open third round and Wimbledon second round.

Her impressive record in all competitions this season improved to 50-9, including 24-8 against players ranked above her.

In only her seventh WTA main draw, she advanced to the quarterfinals of a 1000-level tournament for the first time, knocking off higher-ranked opponents at each step.

Mboko opened with a win over 79th-ranked Kimberly Birrell, then upset 23rd seed and former Grand Slam champion Sofia Kenin before snapping Marie Bouzkova’s seven-match winning streak with a relentless comeback and taking down Gauff, dropping one set the whole way.

“I do see someone who is going to have a really bright future,” Gauff said. “She’s very athletic. She’s a great ball striker, and she seems pretty positive out there on the court, doesn’t get really too negative.

“Hopefully we have many more battles, and I look forward to playing her again in the future.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 2, 2025.