Mboko has played so much tennis this season for one reason — because she wins and wins and wins some more. She’s just doing it on ever-bigger stages. In addition to Osaka and Rybakina, she beat world No. 2 Coco Gauff and 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin on the way to the title.

Victoria Mboko didn’t even have a picture on the WTA website before the National Bank Open in Montreal. Now, the 18-year-old is set to face Naomi Osaka in the first WTA final of her career.

Mboko, an 18-year-old Canadian who won the first WTA title of her career at the 1000-level event in front of an enamored home crowd, cited a left wrist injury for her decision. Osaka, who had played in her first 1000-level final since 2022,