Remember that fiery 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 showdown between Coco Gauff and Victoria Mboko at the Italian Open? Gauff came out on top, but the 18-year-old Canadian played with a poise that made the 153-ranking gap disappear under Rome’s spotlight. However, now, as they prepare to clash again in the Canadian Open R16, the script flips. Gauff, reeling from grass-court woes and haunted by double faults, faces a resurgent Victoria Mboko ready to prove her power on home soil. The storm is brewing, and Mboko smells blood.
Victoria Mboko’s breakout 2025 season just exploded with another statement win, this time on home turf in Montreal. The 18-year-old Canadian stunned World No. 35 Marie Bouzkova 1-6, 6-3, 6-0 under the lights at the Omnium Banque Nationale, powering into the fourth round of a WTA 1000 for the very first time. Just a year ago, Mboko was languishing outside the Top 300. Now, she’s rewriting the script with fearless shot-making and relentless grit.
Snapping Bouzkova’s seven-match winning streak, Mboko rode a wave of eight straight games, seizing the moment as her opponent struggled physically after splitting sets. She lost just eight points in the final frame, completing her first-ever comeback win from a set down on the Hologic WTA Tour. With Coco Gauff up next, the fire is lit, and Mboko’s message is loud and clear.
In the heat of the post-match press conference, Victoria Mboko didn’t hold back her thoughts when the looming clash with Coco Gauff came up. The Canadian teenager, fresh off a roaring three-set comeback win in Montreal, wore her excitement on her sleeve. “I mean, I’m really excited for it,” she admitted without hesitation. The 18-year-old wasn’t just giddy with anticipation, she was locked in. “She’s the number one seed of this tournament and, I’ve played her before and I know what I’m going to expect. I’m going to really expect a hard fight. So, I mean it’s always great to play such incredible athletes and incredible players like her and I think it’s just going to be a really fun experience again.”
Victoria Mboko CAN during the 3th round against Coco Gauff USA of the WTA, Tennis Damen Master 1000 Internazionali BNL dItalia tournament at Foro Italico on May 09, 2025 Alfredo Falcone/LaPresse PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxITAxFRAxCHN Copyright: xAlfredoxFalcone/LaPressex
Pressed further on whether the switch from clay to hard court would alter her game plan against the World No. 2, Mboko didn’t flinch. Her conviction cut through: “I mean the surface is different but I mean it’s not like you change the way you play just because of the surface. So I’m going to kind of go into the match how I usually go into every other match despite the surface and I going show up with how I play and I just hope for the best.” That mindset, calm, confident, and calculated, has become her trademark.
In her career WTA main-draw so far, Mboko has already matched her best result by storming into the R16. She accomplished the same feat only a week earlier at the WTA 500 in Washington, D.C. Now, in Montreal, she becomes just the fifth 18-year-old in the past decade to reach this stage on home soil, joining an elite club alongside Belinda Bencic, Catherine Cartan Bellis, Iga Swiatek, and Coco Gauff. Fittingly, Gauff is her next opponent, adding even more weight to this electric matchup.
Mboko is riding a tidal wave of momentum. With a stunning 23-8 record against higher-ranked players this season and a jaw-dropping 49-9 overall win-loss tally, she’s no underdog anymore.
But Coco, with the US Open on her radar, is in mission mode, tightening her game, squashing her weaknesses, and preparing for the pressure cooker ahead. This one won’t just be a match, it’s a message in motion.
Rennae Stubbs offers a fix for Coco’s serving woes
Coco Gauff clawed her way through another battle in Montreal, edging past Veronika Kudermetova in a grueling 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory at the Canadian Open today. But while the scoreboard flashed triumph, the stats beneath told a shakier tale.
For the second match in a row, Gauff needed three sets to survive, and once again, her serve stood on shaky ground. A glaring 14 double faults in her Round of 32 win followed the staggering 23 she fired in her opening-round match. As the American digs in for a tougher fight ahead, an Aussie legend didn’t hold back her straight-shooting verdict.
Rennae Stubbs, watching Gauff’s wild first-round win over Danielle Collins, praised the 21-year-old’s indomitable will: “Coco’s speed, tenacity and fight wins her so many matches! I know it’s not over but trust me, I think she still wins this… she just never gives up. It’s a true testament to her guts! She doesn’t let the worst effect her best! Sign of a champion.” Yet amid the chorus of applause, a fan asked the burning question: “That serve though. How to fix it?” Stubbs dropped the hammer: “Time off and no Asia swing. That’s what I would do.”
Fast forward to Gauff’s latest survival act against Kudermetova, and Stubbs doubled down. Back on X, the Aussie veteran wrote: “No matter what is happening. Coco never gives up. Never! It wins her so many matches.” The praise was glowing, but the second-serve storm wasn’t fading. When a fan probed deeper, asking about mechanics, Stubbs got brutally technical: “Yes. She 100% needs a kick second serve but she’s unable to do that with her grip and her ball toss. Also she gets forward too early as well and her elbow is low. There are many things to tweak.”
Now, with Canadian teen Victoria Mboko looming in the R16, the stakes are only getting hotter. The grit is there. The guts are undeniable. But if Coco wants to sharpen her firepower before the US Open blaze begins, fixing that double fault demon is no longer optional: it’s urgent!
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