PARIS (AP) — Victoria Mboko is still just 18, still rather new to the top level of professional tennis, and yet with a big serve, a terrific backhand and enviable court coverage, the Canadian is making the most of her first season on tour, including a victory in her Grand Slam debut on Sunday at the French Open.
When it was mentioned that her 6-1, 7-6 (4) elimination of 2024 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Lulu Sun meant Mboko has claimed all eight sets she’s played over the past week-plus on the red clay at Roland-Garros — including six in a trio of triumphs in the qualifying rounds — the teen laughed, revealing the braces on her teeth.
“This does, obviously, feel really quick for me. Although it feels quick, I feel like I’m also adapting very quickly. I want to be in this level,” said Mboko, represented by talent agency IMG since the age of 12. “To adapt really fast is really important to me. The more I feel like I make it seem normal to me, the more normal it’s going to be in these tournaments.”
Against the left-handed Sun, Mboko’s serve — which she considers her game’s greatest strength — played a significant role in the outcome.
With her father and two of her older siblings in the stands at Court 9, a short walk from Court Suzanne-Lenglen, Mboko reached a top speed of 115 mph and delivered seven aces. She won all 10 of her service games, saving all seven break points accumulated by Sun.
“I love to dictate points on my serve, and I love to use that as an opportunity to be more aggressive and be up in the score,” said Mboko, who is currently ranked 120th. “Especially in women’s tennis, having a good serve and holding all the time is pretty crucial. It helps me get out of a lot of sticky situations.”
Her favorite player as a kid — not all that long ago, actually — was Serena Williams, whose 23 Grand Slam titles often came with the help of top-notch serving.
“I always modeled myself on the idea of her game. Of course, not everything I do is the same. But she had such a powerful game, and that’s something that I would love to replicate and love to present my game off of that,” Mboko said. “It’s great to have a role model like that and try to do something like she did.”
Mboko began to really get noticed in the world of tennis at the start of this year, when she won 22 matches in a row — all in straight sets — to earn four lower-level International Tennis Federation titles. Her first WTA match arrived at the Miami Open in March, and she won that debut, too.
She’s been impressing opponents along the way, including 2023 U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff. Mboko pushed the American, who is ranked No. 2 right now, to three sets on clay at the Italian Open this month.
“She’s playing top-level tennis,” Gauff said after that win. “For sure, on the movement, I would say she’s up there with me on that. As far as the other parts of her game, she’s obviously a big hitter, can play well, moves pretty well, has a nice backhand, same on the forehand.”
Mboko grew up playing mostly on indoor hard courts in Canada and calls that her “favorite surface for my whole life.”
That said, she’s starting to get used to — and enjoy — the clay used at the French Open.
“In the future? I guess we’ll see. You never know. I feel like I’ve been doing pretty OK on the clay so far, even though it was my least favorite surface and I thought it was my worst surface, too,” Mboko said. “But you never know.”
___
Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Howard Fendrich, The Associated Press
