Mboko is moving fast; and Doha showed she’s ready

Victoria Mboko arrived in Doha with a growing reputation and left with something more concrete: proof. If anyone still wondered whether her surprise WTA 1000 title run in Montreal last August was a flash in the pan, the 19-year-old spent the past week answering that question – emphatically – in Doha.

Coming into the first WTA 1000 event of the season, Mboko was up to No. 13 in the rankings. The Canadian scored back-to-back top-10 wins over fellow teenager Mirra Andreeva, ranked seventh in the world, and Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina, ranked third, to reach the semi-finals. She then defeated former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko — the player with the most match wins in the history of the event — before falling to world No. 19 Karolina Muchova in two close sets in the final.

Her run this week was enough to guarantee a debut in the world’s top 10 this week — a stunning rise for someone who was ranked outside the top 300 at the start of the 2025 season.

“It’s kind of crazy,” Mboko told the media after in Doha. “I never expected something to happen so fast for me. It’s nice to see that, to have that milestone, to see that number. So, I’m pretty happy with that. I have have been taking it day by day, tournament by tournament. Every tournament I enter, I want to do well. I don’t hold that much expectation of myself. It’s not like when I enter a tournament I’m going to say I’m going to win it, but you always want to try your best.”

I think right now it’s just important to improve and move forward and work on things that need to be worked on

While she was no doubt disappointed with the result in the final, Mboko is smart enough to know the week carried several positives.

“Looking back at everything, it was a positive week. Karolina played really great tennis, so I have to give props to her. I think it’s still the beginning of the year, there’s still the rest of the season. I think right now it’s just important to improve and move forward and work on things that need to be worked on. Making it to the finals is generally a positive thing, it’s never a negative,” she added.

In the span of just a few months, Mboko has gone from being the underdog in every match she played to the favourite in most of the matches she plays. But while expectations around her continue to rise, the teenager is keeping things in perspective.

“I understand why I would be the favorite now most of the time. But there’s still so many talented girls out there, and it’s tennis, anything can happen. If I was the underdog and being able to play many top players and having a chance to win, many other people have that opportunity too. I’m not putting much pressure on myself, I just want to go out there and play.”

“I don’t really set goals for myself, just because I just like to surprise myself along the way” – Mboko

And while she admits that being in the top 10 has come earlier than she imagined, Mboko isn’t focused on any other milestones for now.

“I don’t really set goals for myself, just because I just like to surprise myself along the way,” the teenager, who is coached by former Wimbledon finalist Nathalie Tauziat, said. “You never know what’s going to happen in tennis. You can have high moments, you can have also low moments. I think just being positive with myself with whatever happens, it’s all a part of the process. As long as I’m having fun doing what I love, it’s going to pay off at the end of the day and, who knows, maybe good things may come my way in the future.

Mboko may have missed out on the title, but Doha still felt like another turning point — not because of the ranking jump, but because of the calibre of the wins and the poise she displayed all week. Expectations will follow her onto every court she walks into. But if this week was any indication, Mboko isn’t getting distracted by the noise. She’s foussed on the process – and the rest of us may have to get used to seeing her at this level.

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