After her extraordinary win at the National Bank Open in Montreal, 18-year-old tennis sensation Victoria Mboko is being celebrated as a role model for the next generation of Canadian athletes.

The phenom, who was born in North Carolina and raised in Burlington, Ont., took the National Bank Open title on Thursday after defeating four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the final match.

On Friday, she shot up 61 spots to a career-best No. 24 in the world rankings. She’s set to be a seeded player at the U.S. Open in New York, which will begin later this month.

Yosabeth Agonafer of the Alberta-based group Black Girls in Tennis says Mboko’s victory on Canadian soil paves the way for more representation of Black Canadian women in tennis.

“It wasn’t just about her winning. It

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