Canada's Victoria Mboko quickly bounced out of US Open
Victoria Mboko will have to wait a bit longer for her next tennis win.
In her first match of the US Open, Mboko fell 6-3, 6-2 to Czech player Barbora Krejčíková, bouncing her out of the singles draw.
Mboko became a household name in Canada after winning the National Bank Open title earlier this month. Entering the tournament as a wildcard, Mboko went on an unreal run to upset four former Grand Slam champions, including Naomi Osaka in the final, to win her maiden WTA title.
“When I was younger, these kinds of achievements seemed so far away. I would never [have] known it would come so [soon],” said Mboko in a post-match interview with Sportsnet’s Danielle Michaud after winning the title in Montreal. “Oh my god, I’m getting so emotional right now.”
Mboko was ranked No. 22 in the tournament, while Krejčíková was unseeded. It was probably only a true upset on paper, though, as Krejčíková is a two-time Grand Slam champion, including last year’s Wimbledon title, and a former World No. 2.
After winning the National Bank Open, Mboko took a few weeks to recharge and skipped the Cincinnati event on the WTA Tour. Monday’s loss was her first match since her win over Osaka.
Mboko drew easy comparisons to fellow Canadian Bianca Andreescu, who won the 2019 US Open title just weeks after winning the 2019 Canadian Open (then called the Rogers Cup) in Toronto.
Fellow Canadian and 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez beat another Canadian, Rebecca Marino, in her own first-round matchup, with a second-round match coming on Wednesday.
The next WTA event on the calendar at the 500 level or above is the Guadalajara Open, taking place in mid-September in Mexico.
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