Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko has staged a stunning comeback to defeat four-time grand slam champion Naomi Osaka to claim her maiden WTA title at the Canadian Open.
The 18-year-old came back after losing the opening set to the Japanese former world number one, who had established a 3-0 lead as Mboko struggled with costly service errors.
But the home favourite found her rhythm in the second set, breaking serve to establish a 5-2 lead. Osaka struggled to catch up, and her poor returns allowed Mboko to level the match and force a decider.
The decisive moment came in the third set, when Mboko took a 3-1 lead after saving four break points in a pivotal fourth game that gave her a firm grip on the match as she went on to claim the title with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 win after 2 hours and 4 minutes of play.
"I want to thank Naomi for an incredible match. I've always looked up to her when I was really little. It's always great to play with such an amazing player like you," Mboko said.
Mboko said she "couldn't be more grateful" to the raucous Canadian fans who got behind her, with the impact even being felt in the men's final in Toronto, where play between Ben Shelton and Karen Khachanov was stopped as news of her win filtered through the increasingly jubilant crowd.
"What's going on?" Shelton was seen saying, before approaching umpire Fergus Murphy, who told him the news.
Shelton, who beat Australian Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals in Toronto, then went on to beat his Russian opponent 6-7(5/7), 6-4, 7-6(7/3) for his first Masters 1000 title.
Mboko was ranked 85th in the world before her final but will now jump all the way to a career-high 25, one spot behind Osaka in 24th.
Remarkably, Osaka was the fourth major champion Mboko beat in Montreal, with victories over 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin, 2025 French and 2023 US Open winner Coco Gauff, and 2022 Wimbledon champ Elena Rybakina.
For Osaka, who was attempting to revive her career after an inconsistent period following her return from maternity leave last year, the defeat brought her groundbreaking tournament to an end.
This loss also extended Osaka's title drought at the top level.
Although she won a WTA 125 clay-court tournament in May, the WTA Tour only includes 250 tournaments and above, meaning her last triumph came at the 2021 Australian Open.
Reuters
