Could Another 1000 Title Be on the Horizon for the 2025 National Bank Open Champion?
At this time last year, young Canadian powerhouse Victoria Mboko was 162nd-ranked in the WTA, still pushing her body to the absolute limit and fighting through the qualifying rounds of every future and minor tournament she played. Today, standing proud at ninth-ranked, she’s beaten fellow young, uprising star Mirra Andreeva of Russia for the second time in a row, making it twice now she’s knocked the Russian out of a WTA 1000 for the year, adding to Andreeva’s tumultuous 2026 so far. Revenge twice over after losing to Andreeva in the WTA 250 Adelaide International Final. This budding rivalry aside, this latest victory in the Miami Open puts Mboko in the Quarterfinals, one step closer to what could be another WTA 1000 title for her collection. With all the tough talent around her in the Miami sun, can she pull it off?
A Breakout 2025 Year
Winning a few low-level ITF-Tour tournaments from the start of 2025, Mboko had already begun to build up her name, her game, and her rhythm by the Miami Open last year. Losing to tenth-seed Paula Badosa in a tight, three-set match, the Canadian continued posting similar, competitive results to high-ranked players as the year crawled on. Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina had to fight through her in the months that followed. By surviving the qualifiers at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon, the Canadian gathered points and experience. It was at her own hometown tournament, the WTA 1000 National Bank Open, where crowds and athletes alike truly knew her. After gaining a wild card back into the draw, at 18 years old, she ruthlessly survived and slayed several of the most dangerous players in the draw, unexpectedly lifting the trophy. On her way to the championship, she took revenge on Rybakina and Gauff, defeated Marie Bouzkova, 2020 Australian Open Champion Sofia Kenin, and upset Naomi Osaka in the final, a former first-ranked and four-time Grand Slam Champion, on her way to a comeback.
Not finishing 2025 on that triumph, the Canadian nicked the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, a WTA 250 in the Asian Swing leg of the tour. Defeating Alexandra Eala, 2021 U.S. Open finalist and fellow Canadian, Leylah Fernandez, and a young, upcoming danger, Australian, Talia Gibson, she’s embraced her rising ranking with grace. Plus, her game and level are growing just as exponentially. With such a powerful game, it’s refreshing to see that she’s one of the players who doesn’t have any issue with letting it overtake her, always tempering the pace sensibly.
Can Mboko Pocket Miami Open for Her Own?
In 2026, Mboko has already played two finals: Adelaide International, a 250, where she fell short and lost to Andreeva. The National Bank Open clearly wasn’t enough for her, and rightfully so, as the Canadian nearly nicked another WTA 1000 in Doha, falling to Czechia’s Karoline Muchova in straight sets. It’s also who awaits her in her quarter-final, a ripe rematch. Muchova is also playing remarkable tennis this year, with a win-loss record of 17-3, including three losses to women ranked in the top four. If Mboko is able to overcome her next opponent, the possibility of her lifting this trophy is very real because of where she is in the draw.
Her biggest dangers, if all moves predictably, will be fourth-ranked Gauff in the Semifinals, and it is a toss-up if she’ll meet second-seeded Rybakina or first-seeded Aryna Sabalenka in the final. That is, if American Hailey Baptiste and aforementioned Gibson don’t continue with their fairytale tournament of upsets and do away with both top-seeds. Plus, as much as everyone loves a fairytale, it might become a lot more complicated for the Canadian if these two come into the equation with their own magic. Baptiste leads the head-to-head one-to-love between herself and Mboko, while Mboko leads the head-to-head between her and Gibson one-to-love. Nevertheless, whether the trends of the Miami Open upset continue, it can be guaranteed that entertaining tennis will prevail.
