MONTREAL — Toronto’s Victoria Mboko made good on her first impression in front of the Montreal faithful Sunday in opening-round action at the National Bank Open tennis tournament.
Mboko, making her main draw debut on home soil, powered her way past Australia’s Kimberly Birrell 7-5, 6-3 on a scorching afternoon on IGA Stadium’s Centre Court.
“Today was really fun,” said Mboko. “It was a really fun experience playing in front of the Canadian crowd for the first time in Montreal. Playing on the Centre Court was a little bit nervous at the beginning, but I’d say throughout the match it kind of got better and I felt more confident towards the end.”
Mboko utilized her big and powerful service game, hammering 15 aces, which regularly exceeded 180 kilometres per hour. She also mixed in some solid forehand winners to energize the crowd all throughout her 90-plus minutes on court.
“I kind of surprised myself a little bit in the match where I was serving really well,” she said. “I just wanted to have a really good first serve percentage, honestly in the whole match. I didn’t know I was going to serve like that. It gave me a lot of advantages and free points.
"I think that also was a big factor in the match to help me gain those points where I really needed them. Hopefully, I can continue like that.”
Mboko further ingratiated herself with her new-found supporters long after her match was over. Mboko spent countless moments signing autographs for fans, young and old, awaiting her signature both inside and outside the stadium. She even sprinkled in some French during her on-court post-match interview.
“I know a lot of them were really there just to support me, whether I won or lost a point,” said Mboko. “I was really grateful for that. I think it really helped me as well to get through the match.”
Mboko got off to a strong start, breaking Birrell on the Aussie’s opening service game to go up 2-0. However, Birrell immediately broke back the following game.
Both players held serve until the set’s 12th and final game, with Mboko breaking the serve of her opponent to take the opener 7-5.
Mboko was gifted a break in the fourth game of the second set, with Birrell committing a costly double-fault to put the Canadian ahead 3-1.
For Mboko, this was an important turning point in her match.
“I think it really made a big difference in the match because if she were to hold, it would be tied in the score,” she said. “I really wanted to put a lot of emphasis to break her in that moment when I had the chance and to serve really well so I that could have the bigger edge in the match.”
Mboko never looked back from there, holding serve three times to pull away with the straight-sets victory.
The 18-year-old Mboko, currently ranked No. 88 in the world, was one of seven Canadians awarded a wild card into the WTA 1000 main draw.
She has enjoyed a meteoric rise up the WTA rankings in 2025, having started the season as the 350th-ranked player in the world. Mboko improved to 46-8 this season across all competitions thanks to Sunday’s victory, which also included a stretch of 22 consecutive match wins — all in straight sets — at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Challenger tour level.
Mboko also impressed at the Grand Slam level, qualifying for both the French Open and Wimbledon this season, where she reached the third and second rounds, respectively.
“I could say that I had a lot of matches under my belt, too,” added Mboko. “I’m starting to play more tournaments on the WTA which has given me a little bit more of a confidence boost in a way.”
Mboko's first-round win sets up a meeting with American Sofia Kenin in the second round. The 23rd-seeded Kenin earned an automatic bye into the second round by virtue of her ranking.
Mboko admits she doesn’t know a whole lot about her next opponent. However, there is one thing she knows for sure: it won’t be easy.
“She’s a seeded player here, so I know she’s going to play some really great tennis,” she said. “I know I’m expecting a really hard battle against her. I’m just going to go into the match with the same mindset that I have all the time.
"I need to be focused from the first point and I’m not expecting anything easy. I’m just going to be very prepared for that.”
Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., opened Centre Court action earlier in the day, falling to Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 in her first-round match.
“I think I came out pretty strong and played well in the first set,” the 20-year-old Stakusic said. “She (Cristian) just kept hanging in there. She didn’t give me many free points and she served really well. She was pretty level-headed the whole match.”
The 142nd-ranked Stakusic, in her fourth appearance at the NBO, was making her main draw debut in Montreal after bowing out in the second round of last year’s tournament held in Toronto.
Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon champion, also advanced to the second round for the second straight time in Montreal, dispatching 20-year-old Philippine phenom Alexandra Eala 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 in a spirited three-set battle.
The evening session features a pair of Canadian veterans gracing Centre Court. Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., will match up against two-time Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova.
The 25-year-old Canadian, who won the NBO in Toronto in 2019, is coming off a strong showing at the Hopman Cup last week in Italy, as she teamed up with Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime to capture the exhibition team tournament. Andreescu won all three of her singles matches in straight sets, dropping only nine games at the competition.
Action concludes with Vancouver's Rebecca Marino taking on French qualifier Elsa Jacquemot. The 34-year-old Marino has struggled this season, winning just one WTA Tour-level match all year.
Sunday marked the start of a revamped 12-day, 96-player format. Action continues daily at IGA Stadium through until the final, set for Aug. 7.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 27, 2025.
Jordan Stoopler, The Canadian Press
