Grand Slam champions keep stepping up to face teen sensation Victoria Mboko in Montreal, and the kid keeps knocking them down.
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For the third time in six matches at the Omnium Banque Nationale, Mboko defeated a former major champion, as she advanced to her maiden WTA final with a 1-6 7-5 7-6(4) victory over Elena Rybakina.
“It was an incredible match,” Mboko, who has also defeated Sofia Kenin and Coco Gauff on her way to the final, told the Montreal crowd. “I want to say thanks to everyone who supported me tonight. It was electric, and I’m very happy – oh my god!”
Mboko battled over two hours and 45 minutes, rallying from a set down and twice from a break down in the final set as she saved a match point and finally pushed past the No.9 seed in a tiebreak, winning the final three points to lock up a spot in the final where a fourth former major champion – Naomi Osaka – will be waiting.
Osaka defeated Clara Tauson in Wednesday’s second semifinal, 6-2 7-6(7).
Mboko survived despite winning only 35 percent of her second-serve points, thanks to a 72 percent first-serve percentage and a very timely break game. With pinpoint returns, stellar defense, and plenty of guile she earned six breaks of Rybakina’s serve as she locked up her second consecutive Top 20 win and became the youngest woman to reach the final in Canada since Belinda Bencic in 2015.
What was Mboko most proud of?
“I would say my ability to kind of come back in the third set,” she said. “I feel like after I had that fall, I wasn’t in the greatest spirits. Of course, she was playing really great tennis on top of that, but I’m happy that I kept my composure, and I was kind of patient in the right moments.
“I just feel really happy that I was able to bounce back after being down. Even a match point…”
Mboko is also the only Canadian woman to ever defeat three former Slam champions in the same event in Open Era history.
“It was very difficult, Elena is a very good player, but anything can happen,” Mboko said.
The victory was not accomplished without adversity.
Mboko took a fall in the second game of the final set, and had her right wrist examined after the third game, but she was able to play through the pain to get the victory against the woman who knocked her out of the Washington, DC draw last week.
“Unfortunately I fell,” Mboko said. “But everybody was supporting me and pushing me through.”
A remarkable effort from a young woman who is playing in her seventh WTA main draw, and just her third at the WTA 1000 level.
Ranked 85 at the start of the week, Mboko is up to 34 in the WTA live rankings at the moment. She was outside the Top 300 when the season started but 41 wins and just eight losses across all levels have propelled the former junior world No.6 to her current perch.
A Battle Royale
It was tense from start to finish against Rybakina, who rallied from a break down to level at 5-5 in the second set, just two games from the win. But Mboko won eight of the final ten points of the set to force a decider.
In the third, Rybakina was in the driver’s set again, leading 4-2 and 5-3 with a break, but she failed to convert a match point while serving at 5-4 and was broken.
After breaking back in the next game, she was broken at love by Mboko and a tiebreak ensued.
ALLEZ VICKY 💪
Following an EPIC three setter, Victoria Mboko rallies back to defeat Rybakina 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(4) to reach her first WTA final!#OBN25pic.twitter.com/1iP9zIHzNw
The Canadian saved her best for last – a line-licking forehand that went for a winner and a 5-4 lead in the breaker. Two points later she sank to her knees in disbelief, another Grand Slam champion, another victim of a raw, talented phenom on the rise.
Meanwhile, Williams, who launched her comeback upsetting compatriot Peyton Stearns in Washington, DC, is 1-2 in her comeback and has shown enough quality to earn a US Open wild card if she wants one.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion, who has a US Open mixed doubles wild card with good friend Reilly Opelka, is living proof tennis is truly a lifetime sport. It would be a fitting way for the USTA to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Williams maiden US Open title with a singles wild card—as well as an opportunity for Flushing Meadows fans to share the love with the four-time Olympic gold-medal champion.
Today, you may have expected Bouzas Maneiro to come out playing crosscourt corner to corner to challenge the veteran’s movement. Through the first six games she didn’t do that—instead opting to try to tie the long-limbed Williams up with deep drives down the middle. That tact helped Bouzas Maneiro fire out to a 4-1 lead as Williams struggled to support her second serve.
Williams won only 8 of 29 second-serve points as Bouzas Maneiro broke six times, but when the five-time Wimbledon winner made her first serve—especially on the deuce court—she was playing first-strike tennis.
Contesting her 11th Cincinnati Open, Williams showed her strong will and a stinging slider serve staging a three-game rally to level at 4-all.
All that good work dissipated when Williams sailed a backhand and Bouzas Maneiro earned her third break of the set for a 5-4 lead.
Still, Williams competed with deep desire. When the Spaniard tested the 45-year-old legend’s legs with a drop shot, Williams easily ran it down and swatted a forehand winner down the line for break point in the 10th game.
On the verge of breaking back, Williams’ rust showed. She netted three three forehands in the next four points. On Bouzas Maneiro’s second set point, Williams netted a backhand as the Spaniard sealed the 41-minute opening set.
Bouzas Maneiro exploited a double fault breaking to start the second set and slid a serve down the T to go up 2-0.
At that point, it looked like the match could slip away. Williams had other ideas breaking back in the fourth game to level 2-all.
Though she lacks the fast first step and eye-popping closing speed of her prime, when Williams gets her body weight behind the ball she can still hammer deep drives. She showed that skill smacking a forehand drive down the line then catching a break when the Spaniard tapped an easy smash into net to break for 3-all. A Williams biting body serve helped her go up 4-3.
The Bouzas Maneiro forehand down the line was a weapon when she needed it most. The world No. 51 used that shot to help her hold for 4-all. A clean Bouzas Maneiro forehand return winner down the line sealed the crucial break for 5-4.
Dropping to her knees, Aga Radwanska style, Bouzas Maneiro warded off a crackling return to open the 10th game. On her second match point, Bouzas Maneiro’s slider serve down the T closed Williams’ Cincinnati return a full 13 years after she reached the semifinals losing to Li Na.
By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, August 7, 2025 Photo credit: Omnium Banque Nationale Facebook
A diving Victoria Mboko hurled herself at the ball, flicking a flying reply unleashing a resounding roar from Montreal fans.
The Canadian wild card crashed to the court chasing a dropper in wrapping a wild ride. Mboko scored a stunning 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 win over a detached Naomi Osaka to capture her maiden championship in a fairy-tale finish to the Omnium Banque Nationale Open.
The 18-year-old Mboko took home fans on a thrill ride that was unpredictable, unruly and downright ugly at times as former world No. 1 Osaka mentally unraveled in the face of the teenager’s fierce competitiveness, roaring crowd support and her own self-sabotage.
It ended with a crash landing and will go down as a historic flight. Mboko is the second-youngest woman in WTA history to defeat four Grand Slam champion—Sofia Kenin, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina and Osaka—en route to a championship. Only legendary Serena Williams, who was a 17-year-old dynamo clad in canary-colored Puma dress when she knocked off four major champions, including world No. 1 Martina Hingis to win the 1999 US Open, was younger.
The explosive Mboko is the third wild card to win a WTA 1000 championship following soon-to-be Hall of Famer Maria Sharapova (2011 Cincinnati) and compatriot Bianca Andreescu (2019 Indian Wells). Playing with a sore wrist she sustained falling to the court in her semifinal win over Rybakina, Mboko refused to let pain or pressure slow her roll.
“It feels unbelievable right now. I mean, words cannot really describe how today went,” Mboko told the media in Montreal. “Today was such an eventful day actually. I woke up this morning, and I actually had my wrist a little bit swollen from yesterday’s fall, and we quickly went to the hospital actually to do an MRI and an X-ray before I came to the courts to practice today.
“So once we got the green light that nothing too serious was going on in the wrist, I came here and practiced real fast and prepared for my match. So I think today regarding all the events that I did, it feels a lot sweeter.”
World No. 85 Mboko, who was ranked No. 358 a year ago, is the second-lowest ranked woman to win a WTA 1000 title after No. 133 Kim Clijsters, who won the 2005 Indian Wells championship.
In the end, the net divided an immense emotional expanse between four-time major champion Osaka and first-time finalist Mboko.
The teenager played with more poise and deeper desire than a disconsolate Osaka, who incurred a code violation for belting a ball into the stands, appeared annoyed by her opponent toweling off as she was set to serve and looked vacant at the very end.
A determined Mboko flew through the final five games dropping to her knees in exhilaration after earning a two hour, four-minute triumph.
Truth be told it was a bizarre final popping with some brilliant shot-making from both and periods where neither woman could seem to keep the ball between the lines for sustained stretches. Mboko overcame 13 double faults and a 27 percent second-serve percentage, while Osaka often had her opponent on defense only to sail the kill shot in several instances. Mboko converted seven of eight break points and applied her speed and determination to extend points and her knack for the down the line strike to exterminate them.
At times, this final was like watching virtuoso musicians hit pitch perfect high notes then shriek through stretches of atonal music.
Yet, Mboko showed her grit, guts and star power riding a wave of support that overwhelmed Osaka into fretful frustration.
At the outset, Osaka delivered a dose of forehand medicine to Mboko that she received from Liudmila Samsonova in round two.
In her 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-3 comeback conquest of 13th-seeded Samsonova, Osaka was getting beaten repeatedly in crosscourt exchanges for a set and a half. The Japanese was sometimes taking one big step rather than the short, precise preparation steps to give herself ideal spacing between her body and the ball.
Tonight, Osaka came out straddling the baseline ripping crosscourt forehands basically telling the teenager: let’s see if you can hang and bang in crosscourt forehand fireworks.
Showing the shotmaking that made her a two-time US Open champion, Osaka fired a forehand down the line streaking to a 4-1 lead. Whipping forehands with menacing intent, Osaka broke again to take the opener in 37 minutes.
The world No. 49 seemed to be in control, but soon Mboko’s speed and persistence and the crowd’s growing participation spooked Osaka into strange and sour places.
Facing a red-hot, fearless opponent, thousands of screaming Canadian fans and the prospect of winning her biggest title in four years all amped up the angst Osaka was feeling. That’s completely understandable.
Still, if you’re as experienced as Osaka you cannot be wishing balls out as she did a couple of times pointing to marks she thought were wide on balls that actually landed inside the sideline. You’ve got to play the actual call and not the call you hope to hear—yet it showed the nerves the Japanese superstar was feeling even up a set.
When Osaka dropped serve for the second straight time to fall behind 1-2 in the second set she dropped her blue Yonex stick to the court in a visible show of frustration.
Across the net, the 18-year-old Mboko meant business. After blowing a 40-15 lead and double-faulting back the break in the fourth game, Mboko blasted a big return to break again for 3-2—the sixth straight break of this hard-hitting final.
Shaking off a double fault, Mboko geared into groove drawing a wild forehand error to hold at 30 for 4-2—the first hold since Osaka went up 5-2 in the opening set.
A rattled Osaka was staring up at the sky as if searching for answers from above, while Mboko raced through a love break extending her lead to 5-2.
Cutting a forlorn figure as she paced near the back wall, Osaka looked dejected. Then Mboko threw her a life line.
The teenager totally lost her serve motion spit up three double faults and watched Osaka rope a return down the line to break back in the eighth game. Osaka whipped the wide serve stamping her first hold of the set for 4-5 and shifting pressure back on Mboko’s shoulders.
After asking her coaching box for advice on serve, Mboko took pace off the serve. That approach worked as she rallied from 15-30 down winning three points in a row to snatch a jittery and wild second set and force a decider after 82 minutes of play.
“Naomi came out playing really great tennis,” Mboko said. “I think she always had that aggressive kind of game style, and I knew she was that good of a player. When I lost the first set, I kind of told myself to regroup a little bit and start fresh. I knew she was going to — going into the second set, I knew she was going to also keep playing aggressive, so I kind of had to rely on my defending skills most of the match.
“Since she hits such a powerful ball, it was really hard for me to kind of replicate what she was putting in through. But I think at the end of the day I just did everything I possibly could to pull through the match, and thankfully I came out for the win.”
Despite dumping 12 double faults through two sets, the wild card was one set from her first career title. Osaka left the court to reset before the decider.
In retrospect that break was a big mistake as Mboko spent the down time hitting practice serves and finding her groove while Osaka was trying to set her mind back on track.
Just when you thought a crazy final couldn’t possibly get more unstable, it did. Both women double faulted away breaks to start the final set. Osaka squandered a 30-15 lead, then belted a ball into the stands, incurring a code violation warning for ball abuse as Mboko converted her sixth break edging ahead 2-1.
Throughout this magical Montreal run, Mboko’s poise under pressure, creativity on the run and sheer resilience have been her super-powers. She showed all of that in a draining fourth game.
Dripping sweat, Mboko fought off four break points in a dramatic six-deuce game dabbing a dropper to hold for 3-1 as the entire stadium seemed to rise to its collective feet roaring.
If you’ve watched Osaka win any of her four Grand Slams you know she can be a premier power player with a knack for the devastating first strike.
This final reinforced the fact for all her wondrous gifts as a ball striker, Osaka’s aversion to the net remains a vulnerability. Time and time again, Osaka had the teenager on the move in the fifth game, but stubbornly remained stuck to the baseline trying to squeeze shots closer to the lines. In the end she hit herself into oblivion as Mboko broke a seventh time for 4-1.
Mentally, Mboko was soaring on this magical flight and Osaka was grounded in misery.
When Osaka tapped a casual drop shot, a soaring Mboko raced forward went full dive and crashed to the court flicking a forehand and losing her Wilson racquet in the process. The chair umpire called for a replay to make sure Mboko got it on one bounce, but Osaka, who looked like she just wanted to get off the court, didn’t even wait and played through that request.
“In that game I was, like, Oh, I’m super close. At that point I had the fighting mentality,” Mboko said. “I just wanted to run and put as many balls back in the court as possible. I wanted it so badly that I think falling was a little bit worth it.
“I mean, in that situation I wanted to just stay in there with her. Naomi was playing such aggressive, and she was hitting some pretty clean shots. So I wanted to run and retrieve everything that even didn’t seem possible.”
Mboko completed a magical run dropping to her knees as Osaka came around the net to offer congratulations. Back in 2018, Osaka overcame legendary Serena Williams and 23,000 screaming American fans in Arthur Ashe Stadium to win the US Open in a moment she called “bittersweet”.
Tonight, it felt like a bit of a role reversal with Mboko riding the wave of Canadian crowd support and Osaka looking positively muted by the end.
This victory vaults Mboko past compatriot and Washington, DC champion Leylah Fernandez to No. 25 as the highest-ranked Canadian woman. Mboko said afterward she will skip Cincinnati to rest her sore wrist and prepare for the US Open. Despite the disappointing finish, Osaka rises to No. 24 in the rankings.
There’s a lot to like about Mboko’s game and her commitment to the cause and based on what we saw tonight both women will be dangerous threats at this month’s US Open.
By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, August 5, 2025 Photo credit: Mubadala Citi DC Open Facebook
Emma Raducanu has hired Franciso Roig in an effort to continue a renaissance season.
The 2021 US Open champion has hired Rafael Nadal’s former coach through the end of the 2025 season, PA News Agency reports.
The 57-year-old Spaniard was a long-time coaching member of Nadal’s team, later coached Matteo Berrettini and has experience coaching on the WTA Tour as well. Roig, who reached a career-high rank of No. 60 on the ATP Tour, also coached 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens.
Roig succeeds Mark Petchey, who had been coaching Raducanu on an informal basis since the Miami Open. Tennis Channel analyst had agreed to work with Raducanu through the end of the grass-court season, but could not commit to coaching her full time because of his television commentary obligations.
Working with Petchey, who previously coached Andy Murray, Raducanu registered some of her best results in years.
The 22-year-old Raducanu reached quarterfinals at Miami and Queen’s Club and was a semifinalist in Washington, DC. Working with Petchey, Raducanu applied her athleticism and found the joy in her tennis.
The 33rd-ranked Raducanu has defeated former Grand Slam champions Naomi Osaka and Marketa Vondrusova in recent months and led world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka by a break in both sets before bowing 7-6(6), 6-4 in the Wimbledon third round.
After that match, Raducanu said she hoped to continue working with Petchey, but understood his position.
“Yeah, it’s very difficult. He obviously also has his commentating commitments,” Raducanu said at Wimbledon. “He agreed to kind of help me until the end of Wimbledon and then we kind of see from there because he gave up some work to work with me here, which I really appreciate and I’m grateful for.”
The challenge Roig faces is encouraging Raducanu to continue to apply her athleticism, all-court skills and versatility, particularly against big hitters, who can overpower her. Wimbledon finalist Amanda Anisimova crushed Raducanu 6-2, 6-1 in Montreal playing bold first-strike tennis.
Still, Raducanu should be encouraged with the strides she made working with Petchey that prompted No. 1 Sabalenka to make a bold assertion about the Briton.
“I cannot predict anything, but I definitely sure that, maybe not in a month, but maybe a bit longer period, but she definitely going to get back in top,” Sabalenka said after her Wimbledon win over Raducanu. “She’s fighting. She’s playing much better.
“She’s more consistent. I can see that mentally she’s healthy. I think that’s really important. Yeah, I’m pretty sure she’s getting there.”
By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, August 3, 2025 Photo credit: Tennis TV
Sounds of squealing sneakers reverberated around the Toronto court.
Alex de Minaur barely spoke a word during the decisive set today, but his Asic shoes wouldn’t shut up.
Bursting off the baseline with deep desire, de Minaur ran down drop shots to score the key break fending off Frances Tiafoe 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 to roar into his seventh quarterfinal of the season at the ATP 1000 National Bank Open.
A week after de Minaur denied three championship points to out-duel Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the Washington, DC final and capture his 10th career title, he lived up to his “Speed Demon” nickname scoring his seventh straight win.
“There’s a lot of quick movers out there. Maybe this year I haven’t had to rely on it as much because I’m focusing on trying to be a little bit more aggressive,” de Minaur said. “Course, you know, there’s still plenty of hours that have been put on in the gym, off the court, to make sure that my footwork and speed is what it is.
“I like to think that it helps in defending and retrieving, but also it helps me in taking time away from my opponents. I’m using it to my advantage to get to the net very quickly and kind of anticipate the next shot. So it’s not only for defensive use, I’m also trying to use it in an aggressive nature as well.”
It’s a historic victory for de Minaur—his 212th career hard court triumph equals two-time US Open champion Patrick Rafter for second on the Australian all-time list in the Open Era trailing only his Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt, who was 372-158 lifetime on his favored hard courts.
The ninth-seeded de Minaur will face either world No. 7 Ben Shelton or 17th-ranked Wimbledon quarterfinalist Flavio Cobolli for a semifinal spot. De Minaur is 2-0 lifetime against the 23-year-old Cobolli and has yet to face Shelton in a pro match.
Bouncing on his toes behind the baseline, de Minaur exuded more energy, clarity and consistency at the start today.
Tiafoe dragged a forehand wide and scattered a slice backhand gifting the Aussie the opening-game break.
A sound de Minaur rolled through 12 of the next 15 points, bleeding forehand errors from Tiafoe for a second straight break then holding at 15 to lead 4-0 after just 16 minutes of play.
Though Tiafoe earned a couple of break points in the sixth game, he couldn’t find the court on either break point. De Minaur drew a pair of forehand return errors extending his lead to 5-1.
The ninth-seeded Aussie served out the 37-minute opener at 15.
Elevating his first serve percentage from 39 percent to 59 percent in the second set, Tiafoe played more proactive tennis in the second.
The pair combined for four consecutive breaks to start the second set.
At 4-all, 30-40, Tiafoe fought off a break point then dug in to win the longest game of the set edging ahead 5-4.
Though de Minaur went up 30-love in the ensuing game, Tiafoe would not be denied. Ripping a forehand down the line and attacking at the right time, Tiafoe earned set point. The man from Maryland rattled out a framed forehand from his opponent snatching the second set with a raised fist.
After about a seven-minute bathroom break, Tiafoe returned revitalized in tearing through 12 of the first 14 points on serve to stake a 3-2 lead.
Tiafoe held double break point for a potential 4-2 lead, but de Minaur saved the first forcing a forehand miss. On the second break point, the pair produced one of the most dazzling points of the day. A 15-shot rally saw the Aussie nudge a half volley that Tiafoe ran down and poked a pass crosscourt. De Minaur recovered a ball behind him and hit a forehand into the open court to save the second break point. An ace down the T helped de Minaur level at 3-all.
Tiafoe was snapping the slice serve down the T as he stamped his second love hold of the set for 4-3.
Deadlocked at 4-all, Tiafoe showed the good, the bad and the downright crazy of his game. The good was three aces in the game. The bad was Foe’s stubborn insistence on continuing to play the drop shot against one of the sport’s fastest players. And the crazy was even after seeing de Minaur make those running retrievals and seeing the Aussie was hovering right near the baseline, Tiafoe kept indulging his drop-shot fixation.
At one point, de Minaur careened corner to corner like an ambulance driver answering a 911 call as he hit a full-stretch forehand followed by a running backhand then read the dropper and scrambled forward to retrieve prompting Tiafoe to push a half volley into net.
“It’s kind of, it’s part of my DNA, right, never to let a point go, no matter what position in the rally I’m in,” de Minaur said. “Yeah, today was a crucial example of what it can mean if you make that extra point, right.
It was a huge moment, it gave me a break point, and even though I wasn’t able to convert it, it really did send a message that I wanted that game. Yeah, I mean, I don’t have the biggest weapons out here, but one thing I can rely on is my legs.”
You’d think after seeing the Speed Demon pull off that spectacular series of running gets, the last shot on Tiafoe’s mind would be the dropper.
Well think again.
Inexplicably, a couple of points later, Tiafoe tapped a dropper that sat up, de Minaur easily ran it down and shoveled a forehand pass breaking for 5-4.
Still, de Minaur needed a bit of luck to end it hitting a net-cord winner for 30-5. The slider serve brought the Aussie match point and de Minaur closed on another forehand error from Tiafoe, whose forehand failed him at the wrong times today.
A terrific battle that included chair umpire Mo Lahyani advising a parent in the crowd to “please give that baby some love” in response to a crying child ended with a well-earned ovation after two hours, 24 minutes. De Minaur raised his record to 37-13 on the season, he is No. 3 on the Tour for most victories in 2025.
“Tunnel vision,” de Minaur wrote on the court-side camera, summing up another gritty win for the 2025 ATP hard-court win leader.
By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, August 2, 2025 Photo credit: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty
Victoria Mboko expected a tough fight from Coco Gauff.
Before an electric home crowd, the Canadian teenager delivered a knockout.
Eighteen-year-old Mboko repeatedly beat Gauff to the punch toppling the top-seeded American 6-1, 6-4 to score her biggest career win and roar into the Montreal quarterfinals.
“It was one of the biggest matches I could have played so far in my career. So far I feel really happy with how it went,” Mboko told the media in Montreal. “Playing Coco is obviously never easy. She’s No. 2 in the world, and it’s been such a great opportunity for me to play against someone like her. I was just happy I kept my composure today and I pulled it through.”
A dynamic Mboko broke at 15 in the first and last games and spent much of the match playing off the front foot staying one step ahead of the two-time Grand Slam champion.
“I mean, it is tough. I knew she would come in with a lot of confidence, and she’s won her first couple of rounds easily,” Gauff said. “Honestly, I haven’t played the best this tournament, so I knew that it would be tough.
“I don’t know, I just felt like I could do better today, but I also knew that if I took my foot off the gas a little bit, that she would take advantage of those moments, and she did.”
It was Mboko’s first career Top 10 win and she displayed both power and poise pulling it off.
Mboko, who swept former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in round two, made history as the third Canadian teenager to beat multiple Grand Slam champions at a single event. The explosive Mboko joins Bianca Andreescu (Auckland, Indian Wells and US Open in 2019) and Leylah Fernandez (2021 US Open) in achieving that impressive feat.
When things got tight tonight at 4-all in the second set, Mboko did not crack and continued driving the ball deeper than the two-time Grand Slam champion in avenging a three-set loss to Gauff in Rome.
“Honestly, I don’t think she played much different. I think it’s two different surfaces, and I felt like my level was a little bit higher in Rome, so I think the matchup was better,” Gauff said. “But still, I knew in Rome when I played her, it would be a tough match, and it was.
“I knew today it would be hard, and she’s playing, like, high-level tennis. Yeah, I think that’s what showed today. I think she was the better player today.”
Reigning Roland Garros champion Gauff committed 23 double faults—nearly a full set of doubles—in her opener vs. Danielle Collins yet still squeezed out a 7-5, 4-6 7-6(2) victory relying on her grit and legs to get it done in two hours, 56 minutes. In round two, Gauff clanked 14 double faults fending off Veronika Kudermetova 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Today, Gauff hit just six double faults—one more than the Canadian wild card—but Mboko often handcuffed the top seed slashing returns right back through the middle. Mboko converted all four of her break point chances and frequently controlled the forehand to forehand exchanges.
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Gauff skipped Washington, DC to spend time in the Florida heat working on her serve. That shot was suspect in Montreal this week revealing her service game is still very much a work in progress as she heads to Cincinnati before the start of the US Open later this month.
This match was a rematch of the Rome second round in May when Gauff rallied for a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 win.
On the faster Montreal court, Mboko showed she’s one of the few women who can run with the speedy Gauff as she prevailed in some of the crackling crosscourt running rallies.
Reflecting on that Rome defeat helped Mboko remain focused throughout the second set.
“Yeah, I was actually really thinking about it a lot during the match, especially after I won the first set. I kind of had flashbacks to when I played her in Rome a little bit,” Mboko said. “I just remember when she kind of came out playing even better and stepped it up a bit better when I played her in Europe, I was thinking about that.
“I kind of wanted to step my game up a little bit more and make sure I matched whatever she was producing, and I wanted to stay right there with her.”
Taking the ball earlier than Gauff at times Mboko burned the world No. 2 blasting drives down the line.
Deadlocked at 4-all in the second set, Mboko cracked a backhand drive down the line then flashed a clenched fist toward her box holding at 30 for 5-4.
Serving to extend the match, Gauff was down double match point when she hit the slider serve wide. On the full stretch, Mboko flicked a forehand return back into play. Gauff got up to the ball but tried to play a short slice and found the net instead.
Clad head-to-toe in blue Wilson apparel, Mboko tossed her racquet aside and covered her face with her hands in an eruption of emotion as Montreal fans exploded with cheers.
Gauff was gracious in defeat crediting the teenager with outplaying her.
“She’s very athletic. She’s a great ball striker, and she seems pretty positive out there on the court, doesn’t get really too negative,” Gauff said. “I mean, I don’t know her too well, but I’ve gotten to talk to her a little bit over the course since Rome. I think she has a great support system around her, and I think that’s important when you’re young and on tour.
“Yeah, hopefully we have many more battles, and I look forward to playing her again in the future.”
Mboko is the first Canadian teenager to reach the quarterfinals since Andreescu won the title in 2019—and based on this performance she’s poised to do even more damage in this North American summer hard court season.
In the latest edition of Tennis Now TV, we look at Venus Williams thrilling comeback to the tour at the Citi Open in Washington, DC, and contemplate what could come next for the seven-time major champion.
By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, August 1, 2025 Mubadala Citi DC Open Facebook
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina slammed ATP scheduling in Toronto.
Dan Evans delivered a stinging wake-up call to the Spaniard in response.
On his Instagram Stories, Evans called out Davidovich Fokina’s “pathetic” griping.
Reposting the Spaniard’s criticism, Evans posted “Wake up and play. The world wakes up and works 9-5 even 8-6. Pathetic.”
The Briton’s blunt response came after Davidovich Fokina, who suffered a gut-wrenching loss to Alex de Minaur in last week’s Washington, DC final, ripped the ATP scheduling his National Bank Open match for 11 a.m.
“Every match starts at 12:30 p.m., except ours, which has been scheduled for 11 a.m.,” Davidovich Fokina wrote on Instagram Stories. “We’re staying one hour away from the club, which means that we have to wake up extremely early to arrive in good conditions. We asked for a change, but the answer was that everything was already sold: tickets, TV rights, etc. Once again, it’s clear that the players are not taken into consideration. The ATP always promises they’ll fix things, but nothing ever changes.”
By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, July 27, 2025 Photo credit: Mubadala Citi DC Open Facebook
Pushed into the doubles alley, Leylah Fernandez fired a forehand strike.
Even when she was operating from defensive positions, Fernandez conjured offensive magic.
In a brilliant performance, Fernandez crushed Anna Kalinskaya 6-1, 6-2 to roll to her fourth career championship at the Mubadala Citi DC Open final today.
The 22-year-old Fernandez made history as the first Canadian to rule Washington, DC. Unleashing a 69-minute thrashing, Fernandez soared to the biggest title of her career—and first since she won 2023 Hong Kong.
“Wow. First of all I want to congratulate Anna and her team,” Fernandez said after winning her first WTA 500 championship. “You’re a tough opponent to play against so congratulations and hope for the best for the future.
“Secondly, I want to thank the DC crowd, give yourself a round of applause. Thank you for being there all week. You guys have been amazing for cheering us on all week through the heat, the humidity the rain so thank you for being here all week.”
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Former world No. 13 Fernandez capped a spectacular week that saw her knock off Aussie talent Maya Joint, top-seeded and 2024 US Open finalist Jessica Pegula, new WTA doubles No. 1 and home hero Taylor Townsend and 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in a grueling triple tiebreaker test in the height of the DC heat yesterday.
Fernandez posted four Top 50 wins this week in a stirring triumph that thrusts her back into the Top 25 at No. 24 in the Live Rankings.
World No. 48 Kalinskaya swept 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu yesterday, denying DC fans the prospect of a 2021 US Open final rematch.
The Russian, who had not surrendered a set en route to the final, looked overwhelmed playing for her maiden title today.
“I want to congratulate Leylah, an amazing fighter this week,” Kalinskaya said. “You truly deserve it. I’ll see you soon, maybe we’ll play each other next week you never know.”
Though Kalinskaya’s second serve is usually a sturdy shot, Fernandez won 10 of 12 points played on the Russian’s second serve and converted four of six break points today.
The left-handed Canadian cracked 16 winners, which is seven more than Kalinskaya hit.
Despite her draining three hour, 12-minute triumph over WTA ace leader Rybakina in sweltering heat yesterday, Fernandez exuded more energy and urgency from the opening point today.
Deadlocked after two games, Fernandez surged through five games in a row for a one-set lead.
Belting a backhand down the line brought Fernandez a third set point. Sprinting to her right, Fernandez flicked a drop shot winner to snatch a one-set lead.
Striking a rousing running forehand strike helped Fernandez stretch her lead to 6-1, 3-1.
Straddling the baseline, Fernandez attacked and blocked a forehand volley winner for two more break points.
Cracking a clean backhand return winner down the line, Fernandez stamped her fourth break of the match for a 4-1 second set lead.
Kalinskaya made a brief push going up love-30 in the next game, but Fernandez fired through four points in a row. Flashing a serve winner down the T, Fernandez threw a clenched fist to her father in the support box extending to 6-1, 5-1 after just 61 minutes of play.
On her third championship point, Fernandez closed on Kalinskaya’s 24th unforced error.
By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, July 28, 2025 Photo credit: Robert Prange/Getty
Naomi Osaka is ready for a reset.
It won’t include Patrick Mouratoglou.
Former No. 1 Osaka announced she split with Mouratoglou, who coached her for nearly 11 months.
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“Merci Patrick. It was such a great experience learning from you,” Osaka posted on Instagram. “Wishing you nothing but the best. You are one of the coolest people I’ve ever met and I’m sure I’ll see you around.”
Four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka, who split with ex-coach Wim Fissette after the 2024 US Open, began working with Mouratoglou in September of 2024.
“Yes [he’s] my [coach] right now. I try not to commit to short-term collaborations,” Osaka said last September. “I try to think that it is a long-term commitment. I like the way he coaches. I think it’s going to be very interesting.”
Working with Mouratoglou, Osaka captured her first clay-court title at the WTA 125 event in Saint Malo in May. She also reached the Auckland final in January retiring after dropping the opening set to Clara Tauson, 6-4.
Though they clicked personally, professional results largest eluded Osaka, who fell in three sets to Paula Badosa in the Roland Garros opening round. Osaka reached the Wimbledon third round losing in three sets to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Coach Mouratoglou was philosophical about the parting.
“Nothing lasts forever. What counts is what a collaboration has brought to each other and what lasts after,” Mouratoglou posted on social media.
The 49th-ranked Osaka lost to Emma Raducanu, 6-4, 6-2 in the Washington, DC round of 16 last week. Since she won her fourth Grand Slam championship at the 2021 Australian Open, Osaka has become a mom and spoken publicly about mental health battles. Osaka has played 12 majors since that 2021 AO victory and has yet to surpass the third round. She reached the third round of both the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year.
Alex de Minaur and Katie Boulter will partner in new US Open mixed doubles format.
By Richard Pagliaro | @TennisNow | Monday, July 21, 2025
Photo credit: Four Seasons
Venus Williams will celebrate the 25th anniversary of her maiden US Open crown returning to play Flushing Meadows.
Former world No. 1 Venus will partner good friend Reilly Opelka in next month's US Open Mixed Doubles event, the USTA announced today.
The 45-year-old Venus is set to play her first pro match in 16 months in Washington, DC this week.
A quarter century ago, Venus Williams defeated Lindsay Davenport 6-4, 7-5 to capture her first US Open singles crown. Venus successfully defended the US Open in 2001 when she defeated younger sister and 1999 champion Serena Williams 6-2, 6-4 in one of the most-widely viewed US Open women's finals.
Proving the couple that plays together, stays together, Australian No. 1 Alex de Minaur will partner fiancee Katie Boulter at the US Open.
"Yeah, we're definitely going to be keen to try and play if they allow us to and if they want us to," de Minaur told the media at Queen's Club last month. "If that's an option, then we'll definitely be up for it."
One of tennis' top glamor couples announced their engagement on December 23rd on social media.
Earlier this season, de Minaur shared earning "big bucks" to pay for the wedding is one of his driving forces on court these days.
“Realistically, what's driving me at the moment is trying to earn some big bucks for this wedding budget,” De Minaur told Tennis Channel in April. “That's the only thing on my mind—trying to win as many matches as I can, because I've started to look at venues and it's expensive. I can tell you that.”
Paula Badosa and Stefanos Tsitsipas, who have reportedly endeded their relationship, are no longer on the US Open Mixed Doubles entry list.
Given the US Open Mixed Doubles champions will earn $1 Million for capturing the 2025 US Open Mixed Doubles crown, that could be even more motivation for de Minaur and Boulter to join forces in Flushing Meadows and cover their wedding budget.
In total, 25 teams have now entered the event.
The competition will take place during US Open Fan Week on Tuesday, August 19, and Wednesday, August 20, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, with $1 Million in prize money being awarded to the winning team.
Though Fan Week remains free, fans will need to buy tickets to watch the US Open Mixed Doubles.
The entry window will close on July 28th at 12:00 ET, at which time the top eight teams with the best combined singles ranking at the time will officially be in the field/draw via direct acceptance.
The remaining eight teams will be determined via wild card and announced on a date to follow.
The entry list for the 2025 US Open Mixed Doubles Championship includes the following teams:
Emma Navarro and Jannik Sinner
Amanda Anisimova and Holger Rune
Jessica Pegula and Tommy Paul
Jasmine Paolini and Lorenzo Musetti
Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz
Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev
Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe
Aryna Sabalenka and Grigor Dimitrov
Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud
Karolina Muchova and Andrey Rublev
Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz
Belinda Bencic and Alexander Zverev
Olga Danilovic and Novak Djokovic
Taylor Townsend and Ben Shelton
Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori
Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios
Katie Boulter and Alex de Minaur
Donna Vekic and Hubert Hurkacz Gaby Dabrowski and Felix Auger-Aliassime Demi Schuurs and Tallon Griekspoor Katerina Siniakova and Marcelo Arevalo Desirae Krawczyk and Evan King Su-Wei Hsieh and Jan Zielinski Iva Jovic and Jenson Brooksby Venus Williams and Reilly Opelka
“In our initial discussions about reimagining and elevating the US Open Mixed Doubles Championship, we wanted to find a way to showcase the world’s best men and women competing with and against one another, and we were confident that we would be able to get the top players in the game excited about this unique opportunity,” said Lew Sherr, CEO and Executive Director, USTA. “Seeing the teams that have already put their names on the entry list makes us all incredibly excited.
"It shows that the players are behind what we are trying to do, and we know that the fans will love it.”
All-time great Venus Williams is set to compete for the first time in 2025 at the upcoming Mubadala Citi DC Open.
By Erik Gudris | @atntennis | Friday, July 11, 2025
Photo credit: Rob Newell/CameraSport
Venus Williams is set to return to the courts this summer in Washington, D.C.
The all-time great and seven-time major singles champion received a wildcard into the upcoming Mubadala Citi DC Open, the only combined ATP/WTA 500 event.
“I'm excited to accept a wild card to the Mubadala Citi DC Open. There's something truly special about DC: the energy, the fans, the history," Willams said in a statement. "This city has always shown me so much love, and I can’t wait to compete there again!"
— Mubadala Citi DC Open (@mubadalacitidc) July 11, 2025
Williams, 45, has not competed in a professional tournament since the Miami Open last year where she lost in the first round to Diana Shnaider. Williams has been listed as inactive on the WTA tour website since then.
Our strongest player field ever 🔥
Seven Top 10 players, five Grand Slam champions & the top nine US men are all coming to DC this summer!#MubadalaCitiDCOpen
— Mubadala Citi DC Open (@mubadalacitidc) June 26, 2025
“We are so excited that Venus will be playing in the Mubadala Citi DC Open this year," said Mark Ein, Mubadala Citi DC Open Chairman. "She has inspired people around the world with her accomplishments on the court and her visionary impact off the court. I know how much it means to our DC fans and community to be able to watch her compete in person this summer.”
Earlier this spring, Indian Wells tournament organizers announced Williams would make her pro return there at the WTA 1000 event. However, Williams later denied that she had any plans to compete there. Williams provided commentary for TNT Sports at Roland-Garros back in May.
Williams last appeared at the DC tournament back in 2022.
