Serena Williams’ ex-coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, has made a bold prediction about rising star Victoria Mboko. The 18-year-old recently made the headlines by winning the 2025 Canadian Open in Montreal.
Mboko was ranked outside the top 300 last year. She recently captured her maiden WTA 1000 crown in Montreal and is currently among the top 25 players in the world.
Mouratoglou, who trained the likes of Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka, hailed Mboko’s fearless attitude on tour. He felt the Canadian could become a force to be reckoned with in the future.
“No. 1 aspect of Victoria Mboko, she has no respect, doesn’t mean she’s disrespectful, it means that she doesn’t look up to players thinking, wow, I cannot beat that player, or I’m not here yet. She plays to win no matter who is on the other side of the court.
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"She started the year ranked 300. Difficult to think she's not gonna win Grand Slams, great physicality, the way she moves on the court, and she's very offensive, both sides forehand and backhand," Serena Williams' ex-coach said.
Mboko became the third Canadian after Faye Urban in 1969 and Bianca Andreescu in 2019 to win a home event on tour. She has only participated in two other WTA 1000 events so far.
Mouratoglou also spoke about her clinical nature and felt Mboko had great awareness and a winning mentality.
"She controls the court and she has this aura. A year before she was playing challengers and she was winning lot, she goes there to win and she does. For me, that's the biggest message she sends, besides all the other qualities she has," Mouratoglou said.
Mboko outclassed Naomi Osaka in the final, whom Patrick Mouratoglou coached in the past. Despite a valiant effort against the youngster, Osaka came up short, 6-2, 4-6, 1-6.
"Your dreams are closer than they seem"- Victoria Mboko shares her thoughts after winning the Canadian Open
Victoria Mboko had had an optimistic season so far. After a third-round appearance in Paris, she reached the last 16 in Washington and then clinched the title in Montreal.
The 18-year-old reflected on her breakthrough win and felt it was a dream come true in Montreal.
“When I had that winning moment and seeing so many people standing up and cheering for me, it was kind of a surreal experience. I would have never thought something like this would have came so suddenly. It just proves that your dreams are closer than they seem," Victoria Mboko said via AP News.
“Today was such an eventful day actually,” said Mboko, who often shook her wrist in visible discomfort. “It feels unbelievable right now. I mean, words cannot really describe how today went."
Mboko has played most of her tennis on the ITF circuit in her young career. She will be expected to make her debut at the 2025 US Open this month.
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