Victoria Mboko has revealed that she underwent tests in hospital just hours before she sensationally won the Canadian Open. A three-set victory over Naomi Osaka landed the 18-year-old wildcard her first WTA Tour title.
Mboko played through the pain barrier to defeat her childhood idol. Having woken up with a swollen wrist following a fall in her semi-final victory over Elena Rybakina, the Canadian’s nerves were raised when she visited a local hospital to learn whether she would be fit to play. Mboko says her wrist, which was strapped for the match, ‘aggravated’ her while playing against Osaka.
“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 to do an MRI and an X-ray before I came to the courts to practice today,” Mboko said.
“So once we got the green light that nothing too serious was going on in the wrist, I came here and practised real fast and prepared for my match. So I think today, regarding all the events that I did, it feels a lot sweeter.
“I was pretty nervous [about a potential injury], especially when I woke up this morning. It was pretty swollen, and it was really stiff and hard to move. So we decided to go to do an MRI and an X-ray just to make sure that nothing too serious was happening.
“When I got the green light, I just had to make sure I saw the physios, and we taped it up properly before the match and a very solid tape job. I did feel it a little bit during the match. I wouldn’t say I didn’t feel it at all.
“There’s obviously 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. I had, of course, the extra motivation from the crowd as well to keep pushing. I tried to block it out of my head as much as possible.”
Mboko will rise to world No. 24 when the WTA rankings update on Monday. That will likely land her a seeded spot for the US Open. She faces a quick turnaround, with a first-round clash against Diana Schnaider at the Cincinnati Masters tomorrow.
