19-year-old Mboko performs well at Australian Open to reach last 16 – Tennis Now
She’s 19 and still a kid by most standards, but Canada’s Victoria Mboko showed maturity and poise in the third set as she beat Clara Tauson 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-3 on Day 6 of the Australian Open.
Mboko failed to convert three match points late in the second set against Towson, but she entered the third unencumbered by what should have been short-term scar tissue. Instead, she played calm, opportunistic tennis, seizing opportunities with big serves, careful net attacks and baseline strikes that confounded her more experienced opponents.
When it came to match point, she performed so well that she barely blinked, earning her first Grand Slam second week berth on her Australian Open debut.
“I think ultimately it’s just confidence,” Mboko said. “I had a lot of chances in the second set but I have to give credit where credit is due – [Clara] Playing incredible tennis. I just need to lock in the big moments. “
How was she able to put a difficult second-set moment behind her so quickly, especially considering she was just competing in her fourth Grand Slam?
“When you have these chances and you’re on top of the match, it can be very frustrating when you have these chances to finish and don’t take them, but that’s why there was a third set,” she said. “But I was able to regroup, find my groove again, and finish the match.”
What an embarrassment of wealth the WTA Tour has become. We’re not done praising 18-year-old Mira Andreeva, who burst onto the scene at 16 and has already reached an important semi-final, while Mboko arrives looking like a future star. Eighteen-year-old American Iva Jovic, who will compete in the third round tonight, is another potential superstar.
Mboko, who has shone on the tour in 2025, reaching the third round on her French Open Grand Slam debut (from qualifying) and capturing her first 1,000 on home soil in Montreal, in addition to winning Hong Kong in the fall, is clearly not enjoying her sophomore slump.
She’ll get her chance of a lifetime on Day 8, when she knocks out two-time champion Aryna Sabalenka in the round of 16.
