Victoria Mboko beats Naomi Osaka to win Canadian Open title as 18-year-old star completes 'dream run' in Montreal

Canadian teenage sensation Victoria Mboko completed a dream run by winning the National Bank Open title in Montreal, battling a wrist injury and coming back from a set down to beat former world No 1 Naomi Osaka 2-6 6-4 6-1 in the final.

The 18-year-old Mboko - who started the year outside the top 300, and now jumps from 85th to 24th in the world - claims her first WTA Tour title and joins Faye Urban (1969) and Bianca Andreescu (2019) as the only Canadians to win their home event in the Open Era.

The decisive moment came in the third set as Mboko took a 3-1 lead after saving four break points in a pivotal fourth game.

When Osaka fired a shot into the net on match point, the teenager dropped to her knees in celebration before running over to hug her family and coaches in the courtside box.

Who is Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko? Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Congolese parents, but grew up in Toronto. Won her first professional singles title at the ITF W25 tournament in Saskatoon in 2022, which she successfully defended in 2023. Won four consecutive ITF World Tennis Tour events to begin 2025, adding a fifth in March. In second place for most ITF World Tennis Tour women's singles titles won this year. Began 2025 ranked at No 333, but now projected to be No 24 when the rankings are updated on Monday following her victory in Montreal. Qualified for her first Grand Slam main draw at the French Open, where she reached the third round Coached by former world No 3 and 1998 Wimbledon finalist Nathalie Tauziat.

A raucous packed house in Montreal greeted Mboko's success with huge cheers. The crowd was so rowdy throughout the match, in fact, that the umpire repeatedly asked fans to "please be quiet during the points".

"When I had that winning moment and seeing so many people standing up and cheering for me, it was kind of a surreal experience," said Mboko after her stunning win.

"I would have never thought something like this would have come so suddenly. It just proves that your dreams are closer than they [seem]."

Mboko added: "It's been an incredible week here. Montreal, je vous aime!"

Image: Victoria Mboko started the year outside the top 300 and now ranks 25th in the world after his triumph

There were 13 service breaks in 25 games during the final, with Mboko converting eight of her nine break points. And she did it with a stiff and swollen wrist that was "hard to move."

After falling hard in the third set of her semi-final win over Elena Rybakina, Mboko woke up on Thursday morning and rushed to the hospital for X-rays and an MRI, but ultimately received the green light to play.

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"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.

"There's some moments where it was aggravating me a lot, but I feel like it was the final. I just kept saying to myself, 'You have one more to go.'"

Mboko's fairytale run to the title included wins over four majors champions, routing top-seeded Coco Gauff in straight sets as well as toppling Sofia Kenin, Rybakina and then Osaka in the final.

It was Osaka's best performance in a WTA 1000 tournament since also reaching the Miami final in 2022. She stepped away for 15 months toward the end of that season and had daughter Shai in July 2023.

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Shelton claims Toronto title with victory over Khachanov

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Highlights of the National Bank Open final between Karen Khachanov and Ben Shelton from Toronto.

Ben Shelton won the National Bank Open men's title in Toronto for the third and biggest win of his young career, rallying from a set down to defeat 11th seed Karen Khachanov 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 7-6 (7-3).

The second set of the contest provided a bit of controversy as technical issues halted play at 2-2 with players unable to hear audio calls from the electronic line-calling system.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player The automated electronic line-calling technology at the National Bank Open final in Toronto malfunctioned during the second set leaving the players confused and questioning the umpire.

Once play resumed, and after Shelton complained, Khachanov surged into a 4-3 lead. However, the resilient Shelton broke again to edge ahead 5-4 and saved four break points to clinch the second set, forcing a decider, which he claimed in a final tiebreaker.

Play also had to be halted at another stage during the match as Canadian fans in attendance in Toronto celebrated news of Mboko's final victory over Osaka in Montreal.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player The National Bank Open final between Ben Shelton and Karen Khachanov was halted when Canadian fans started to celebrate Victoria Mboko's win over Naomi Osaka in Montreal.

With his victory, the 22-year-old Shelton - seeded fourth - becomes the first American winner of the Masters 1000 event since Andy Roddick in 2003.

"It's a surreal feeling," said Shelton, who also won on hard courts in Tokyo in 2023 and on clay in Houston last year..

"It's been a long week, not an easy path to the final. My best tennis came out when it mattered most. I was clutch, I persevered, I was resilient. All the qualities I like to see in myself."

Shelton will move up a spot to a career-high sixth in the world. He beat Khachanov a night after topping second-seeded Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-3 in an all-American semi-final match.

"I feel like it was a perfect storm for me this week," Shelton said. "A lot of tight matches and long matches. I played some of the best tennis that I've played this year."

The winner had seven of his 16 aces in the third set, and ended the match by winning 14 consecutive points on serve. He held at love to force the final-set tiebreaker.

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