Rising Canadian star Victoria Mboko set for marquee match against Coco Gauff at NBO

Victoria Mboko of Canada celebrates her win over Marie Bouzkova of Czechia during third round tennis action at the National Bank Open in Montreal, Thursday, July 31, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

MONTREAL — Even at four years old, Victoria Mboko hated the taste of defeat.

Pierre Lamarche remembers the little ball of energy waiting eagerly for her turn while her older sister, Gracia, exchanged rallies with him at his tennis academy in Burlington, Ont.

“When we had to pick up the balls, Vicky would take a racket and jump on the baseline,” Lamarche said. “Right away, you saw, ‘Wow, OK.’

“I just remember the way she was so intense and she just hated losing. She couldn’t stand losing to one of her brothers or her sister.”

It’s no surprise to Canada’s former Davis Cup team captain that 14 years later, Mboko is a budding star in the sport.

Lamarche saw it coming long before Mboko’s ferocious forehand turned heads on the pro circuit this year.

The 18-year-old from Toronto has rocketed up the WTA rankings, climbing from No. 333 at the start of the year to No. 85 this week. That number is guaranteed to rise into the 70s with her run to the National Bank Open’s fourth round in Montreal.

Mboko cruised past 23rd seed and former Grand Slam champion Sofia Kenin in straight sets, then rallied from a dismal first set to knock out Marie Bouzkova 1-6, 6-3, 6-0 in a relentless comeback Thursday night.

“I just sent her a text last night. The only thing I said? ‘Wow,’” Lamarche said Friday in a phone interview. ”After playing the way she did the first set, somebody could be embarrassed.

“She’s a tough cookie. She doesn’t give up.”

Next up, a marquee matchup against top seed and world No. 2 Coco Gauff on IGA Stadium’s centre court Saturday night.

Mboko’s coach, former Wimbledon finalist Nathalie Tauziat, believes she’s not afraid of the moment.

“She has been training for a long time for this,” Tauziat said. “Vicky, she knew already that she had great potential, so I think in her head she is ready, and right now she is making her dream come true.”

Mboko’s showdown with Gauff, one of the biggest in her young career, comes at a vulnerable time for the American star. Gauff has scraped by with three-set victories in both her Montreal matches, double-faulting a combined 37 times.

The two players met on clay in Rome last May, when Mboko took the first set but ultimately lost 3-6, 6-2, 6-1.

Gauff, this year’s French Open champion, said Thursday she expects a “tough match” on the hard court.

“She’s definitely playing like one of the top players in the world right now,” she said. “Her ranking will definitely match that soon.”

The youngest of four siblings, Mboko was born in Charlotte, N.C., before her family, originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, settled in Toronto.

Lamarche recalled meeting Mboko’s mother, Godee, at an academy.

“She came to talk to me and said, ‘What am I going to do with my family? We just moved from the States. We don’t know where to go. I’ve got four kids,’” he said. “I said don’t worry about it. Just move to Burlington and we’ll take care of you.

“I just had the utmost respect for the family. The father was working night shifts. The mother was working.”

Mboko, meanwhile, was rapidly moving up at Lamarche’s Ace Tennis Academy with unmatched power to her game. By the time she was 12, Lamarche mapped out a six-year plan to break into the WTA’s top 100.

“And it happened,” he said. “We knew she was special. In our pathway of five programs, she leaped — it’s like going to school and starting in Grade 3, and then going to Grade 6.”

Mboko left the academy in 2017. She went on to rank No. 6 on the junior circuit and win two junior Grand Slams in doubles in 2022, before a nagging knee injury stalled her progress.

Now healthy, Mboko has trained under Tauziat since December, with much success.

The big-serving, five-foot-nine Mboko owns a stellar 48-8 record in all competitions this year. She’s won five tournaments on the lower-tier ITF Tour.

Mboko reached the French Open’s third round and Wimbledon’s second round in her first two Grand Slams.

Mboko hits the ball with ferocity, like she’s searching for a winner with every strike.

While that attribute is key to her success, Lamarche also thinks Mboko needs more variety in her game to become one of the best.

“Last night, the third set, my God, I’ve never seen such quality, but it certainly helps when you have a Plan B or a Plan C,” he said. “People figure out how to play you. I mean, everybody must be scared of playing Vicky. She hits the ball so hard, but nobody’s really studied how to play her yet.”

If Mboko stays healthy and engaged, Tauziat believes there’s no limit to what she can achieve.

“She is at the level of the best,” Tauziat said. “If she’s not hurt, if she works well and we keep this routine that we have, I’m telling you, she can beat anyone.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 1, 2025.

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press