Canada’s Victoria Mboko tops Aussie Kimberly Birrell in National Bank Open debut

Victoria Mboko, of Canada, plays a shot to Kimberly Birrell, of Australia, during their first round match at the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Montreal, Sunday, July 27, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

MONTREAL -- Toronto’s Victoria Mboko made good on her first impression in front of the Montreal faithful Sunday in opening-round action at the National Bank Open tennis tournament.

Mboko, making her main draw debut on home soil, powered her way past Australia’s Kimberly Birrell 7-5, 6-3 on a scorching afternoon on IGA Stadium’s Centre Court.

“Today was really fun,” said Mboko. “It was a really fun experience playing in front of the Canadian crowd for the first time in Montreal. Playing on the Centre Court was a little bit nervous (for me) at the beginning, but I’d say throughout the match it kind of got better and I felt more confident towards the end.”

Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., continued that momentum into the evening session, defeating Czechia’s Barbora Krejcikova in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4 in a battle of former Grand Slam champions.

The match, however, almost ended in devastation for Andreescu as she fell to the ground with a left ankle injury while serving for the match. The Canadian received a lengthy medical timeout, but was able to wrap up the match two points later.

“You guys are everything, honestly,” said an emotional Andreescu during an on-court, post-match interview. “Thank you so, so much. These moments are never easy. I’m just super happy that I was able to pull through and it was thanks to you guys. Thank you so much.”

Andreescu was not made available to the media following the match because of the injury. An update is expected on Monday following more extensive medical exams.

Mboko utilized her big and powerful service game, hammering 15 aces, which regularly exceeded 180 kilometres per hour. She also mixed in some solid forehand winners to energize the crowd all throughout her 90-plus minutes on court.

“I kind of surprised myself a little bit in the match where I was serving really well,” she said. “I just wanted to have a really good first serve percentage, honestly in the whole match. I didn’t know I was going to serve like that. It gave me a lot of advantages and free points.

“I think that also was a big factor in the match to help me gain those points where I really needed them. Hopefully, I can continue like that.”

Mboko spent countless moments signing autographs for fans, young and old, awaiting her signature both inside and outside the stadium. She even sprinkled in some French during her on-court post-match interview.

“I know a lot of them were really there just to support me, whether I won or lost a point,” said Mboko. “I was really grateful for that. I think it really helped me as well to get through the match.”

Mboko got off to a strong start, breaking Birrell on the Aussie’s opening service game to go up 2-0. However, Birrell immediately broke back the following game.

Both players held serve until the set’s 12th and final game, with Mboko breaking the serve of her opponent to take the opener 7-5.

Mboko was gifted a break in the fourth game of the second set, with Birrell committing a costly double-fault to put the Canadian ahead 3-1.

For Mboko, this was an important turning point in her match.

“I think it really made a big difference in the match because if she were to hold, it would be tied in the score,” she said. “I really wanted to put a lot of emphasis to break her in that moment when I had the chance and to serve really well so I that could have the bigger edge in the match.”

Mboko never looked back from there, holding serve three times to pull away with the straight-sets victory.

The 18-year-old Mboko, currently ranked No. 88 in the world, was one of seven Canadians awarded a wild card into the WTA 1000 main draw.

She has enjoyed a meteoric rise up the WTA rankings in 2025, having started the season as the 350th-ranked player in the world. Mboko improved to 46-8 this season across all competitions thanks to Sunday’s victory, which also included a stretch of 22 consecutive match wins -- all in straight sets -- at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Challenger tour level.

Mboko also impressed at the Grand Slam level, qualifying for both the French Open and Wimbledon this season, where she reached the third and second rounds, respectively.

Mboko’s first-round win sets up a meeting with American Sofia Kenin in the second round. The 23rd-seeded Kenin earned an automatic bye into the second round by virtue of her ranking.

Andreescu also conquered the partisan crowd just a few short hours after Mboko did.

After a number of tight service games from both sides, Andreescu finally broke through in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead. The 2019 U.S. Open champion would go on to take the opening set 6-3.

Krejcikova responded well to start the second set, immediately breaking her opponent to pull ahead 2-0. The two-time Grand Slam champion, however, was broken right back three games later and later broken again on her next service game.

Andreescu will look to recover ahead of her scheduled second-round matchup against the fourth-seeded 18-year-old Mira Andreeva.

Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino capped off the night with a 7-6 (2), 6-1 win over French qualifier Elsa Jacquemot. It was Marino’s first WTA Tour-level win since December and first in the first round of the NBO since her run to the third round in 2021.

Earlier in the day, Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., opened Centre Court action falling to Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 in her first-round match.

“I think I came out pretty strong and played well in the first set,” the 20-year-old Stakusic said. “She just kept hanging in there. She didn’t give me many free points and she served really well. She was pretty level-headed the whole match.”

Four more Canadians play their opening-round match in Montreal on Monday, including Eugenie Bouchard, who will kick off the night session against Colombia’s Emiliana Arango. Bouchard announced her plans to retire from professional tennis earlier this month at the conclusion of the tournament.

Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., who captured the Citi Open title in Washington, D.C., earlier Sunday, is expected to play her first-round match against Australia’s Maya Joint on Tuesday.

By Jordan Stoopler

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 27, 2025.