Entering the 2025 Canadian Open semifinals against Elena Rybakina, Victoria Mboko knew it wouldn’t be an easy matchup. The first set at the Court Central showed that Rybakina, who previously dismissed the Canadian tennis talent in Washington in a straight sets victory, had the momentum. Mboko could not control the game tempo as her opponent easily took away the first set 6-1. However, things changed soon.

In the next set, Mboko took an early 3-0 lead with the Kazakhstani’s rally tolerance dropping. She had already won the first set with only 41% first serves going in. Still, while Rybakina held off the serve and returned, Mboko did not leave the lead. A forehand crushed onto the baseline drew the error, and the Canadian leveled the match in a 5-7 win. Soon, the rather silent crowd started

See Full Page