Canada's Mboko withdraws from National Bank Open due to knee injury

Victoria Mboko of Canada returns to Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic during their second-round women's singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris on May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

TORONTO — Canada's Victoria Mboko has withdrawn from the National Bank Open due to a knee injury, Tennis Canada said Tuesday.

The 2025 tournament champion was hurt last month in a match against Czechia’s Karolina Pliskova at the HSBC Championships in London. The world No. 10 from Burlington, Ont., said she injured the medial collateral ligament in her left knee and would miss the rest of the grass-court season.

Now her absence will extend to part of the North American hardcourt season as well and prevent the 19-year-old from trying to defend the title she won last year in Montreal.

"Some tournaments mean a little more than others," Mboko said. "But the National Bank Open means everything to me. Not being able to play at home this summer in front of the people I love and with the support of the Toronto crowd is deeply disappointing as it has been something I've been looking so much forward to."

The NBO Toronto event is set for Aug. 2-13 at Sobeys Stadium.

"We wish Vicky the very best with her recovery and hope to see her back on court as soon as possible,” said NBO Toronto tournament director Karl Hale. "It’s never easy when any player is forced to withdraw due to injury and it’s especially disappointing in Vicky’s case because we were all looking forward to watching her title defence in her hometown of Toronto.

"That said, she is still very young, and our fans will have plenty of opportunities to see her play in Canada, and Toronto, over the course of her career."

Tournament organizers plan to release the 96-player entry list for the singles draw on Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 7, 2026.

The Canadian Press