The last sighting of Victoria Mboko on the tennis scene was nothing short of spectacular, as she lifted the championship trophy at her home tournament in Montreal amidst a vibrant crowd.
The days of Mboko being an underdog are firmly in her rearview mirror.
As she celebrates her 19th birthday on Tuesday, the Canadian star has firmly established herself in the spotlight, following her stunning victory at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers. Starting 2025 ranked outside the top 300, she is now entering the US Open main draw this Sunday as the No. 22 seed in the women’s category.
Her newfound stature as a seeded player means a challenging first-round match against two-time Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova, scheduled for Monday at 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT, set to unfold in front of a packed 14,000-seat Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Krejcikova, who triumphed at Wimbledon last year and won the French Open in 2021, has seen her ranking dip to No. 61. A back injury set her back during the Australian Open, and she has struggled in recent majors, suffering early exits at both the French Open and Wimbledon.
However, hope has blossomed anew, as Krejcikova recently secured three wins at Cincinnati, including an impressive upset over No. 10 seed Elina Svitolina.
Mboko, on the other hand, withdrew from Cincinnati following her magical run in Montreal. She sustained a wrist injury after a semifinal fall, necessitating an MRI (thankfully, no structural damage) just hours before her championship face-off against four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka.
Despite recent challenges at the US Open, Krejcikova remains a formidable opponent for Mboko, who may not enjoy the same home-court advantage that propelled her during the finals in Montreal.
Let’s explore other significant storylines as we approach the final Grand Slam of the year:
Can Canadian men seize the spotlight?
This season, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Denis Shapovalov, and Gabriel Diallo have collectively celebrated five tournament victories. However, their performances at majors have been less impressive.
All three players combined have only secured seven match wins across the first three Grand Slam events, failing to reach the third round.
After a disappointing outing at the National Bank Open in Toronto, Auger-Aliassime made a resurgence by reaching the Cincinnati Open quarterfinals, only to fall 6-0, 6-2 to top seed Jannik Sinner. Diallo also faced Sinner in the third round, losing in a tense second-set tiebreak, while Shapovalov exited early in Ohio.
All three Canadian men are seeded in New York.
Ranked 25th, Auger-Aliassime will kick off against lucky loser and world No. 151 Billy Harris from Great Britain. A potential third-round matchup against No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev looms.
In a first-round clash, the 27th-seeded Shapovalov is set to face Hungarian veteran Marton Fucsovics, currently ranked No. 94. Their career meetings are tied at 2-2, while Sinner may also await in the third round.
Diallo enters his first Grand Slam as the 31st seed, drawing world No. 60 Damir Dzumhur from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
After making his US Open debut last year through qualification and reaching the third round, Diallo is eager to build on his success.
Canada’s Leylah Fernandez has fond memories of the Big Apple, highlighted by her remarkable journey to the US Open final in 2021.
Since then, she has struggled to replicate that form, with her best Grand Slam result being a quarterfinal finish at the 2022 French Open.
After winning the Citi Open title in Washington last month, Fernandez faced early exits in both Montreal and Cincinnati.
The 31st seed will face Canadian qualifier Rebecca Marino in an exciting all-Canadian opener on Sunday. Marino, currently ranked 119th, seeks her first Grand Slam match win since making the third round at the US Open in 2022. Notably, she won their only previous encounter on hard courts in Mexico in 2022.
Top seed Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus could potentially meet the winner of the Fernandez-Marino match in the third round.
Both Sabalenka and Sinner captured the US Open titles last year shortly after their triumphs on hard courts in Cincinnati.
This year, Iga Swiatek from Poland and Carlos Alcaraz from Spain aim to follow that pattern after winning the Cincinnati titles.
Alcaraz, the second seed in New York, benefitted when Sinner retired due to illness while trailing 5-0 in the Cincinnati final.
Alcaraz and Sinner have dominated recent Grand Slam events, each winning a title and showcasing their rivalry in thrilling finals at both the French Open and Wimbledon.
Alcaraz faces a potentially tricky first-round match against hard-serving American Reilly Opelka on Monday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Coming off a Wimbledon victory, Swiatek, who also won at Cincinnati and reached the US Open mixed doubles final with Casper Ruud, is positioned second behind Sabalenka as she pursues her seventh Grand Slam title.
Swiatek resides in the lower half of the draw alongside the struggling French Open champion Coco Gauff and Australian Open winner Madison Keys, who have both been searching for their rhythm throughout the summer hard-court season.
Sabalenka, on the other hand, could meet Denmark’s Clara Tauson in the fourth round and Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals—both of whom have defeated Sabalenka this year.
Much like Mboko, Osaka chose to skip Cincinnati following her impressive Montreal performance.
The Japanese tennis icon faced backlash for not properly acknowledging Mboko in her brief on-court speech after their championship match, subsequently apologizing to Mboko via social media soon after.
Now seeded 23rd after her stellar showing in Canada, Osaka prepares to meet Greet Minnen from Belgium in her US Open opener. Osaka, who took time off to welcome her child, previously triumphed at the US Open in both 2018 and 2020.
After a shaky performance during the Montreal final, all eyes will be on how Osaka responds here.
While Alcaraz and Sinner have taken the reins of men’s tennis, Novak Djokovic, at 38, finds himself in a less spotlighted role.
Nonetheless, Djoker remains a formidable force; he defeated Alcaraz to win Olympic gold in Paris last year and is the last player outside of Alcaraz and Sinner to capture a Grand Slam title, seizing the 2023 US Open.
This 24-time Grand Slam champion, who recently tossed the first pitch at a Yankees game, is seeded seventh this year.
He will face rising American star Learner Tien, a left-handed player, under the vibrant lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday night.
Tien made headlines by reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open, taking down Daniil Medvedev in the process, and also advanced to the round of 16 at the National Bank Open after knocking out Shapovalov.
Expect the enthusiastic American crowd to rally behind Tien if he finds success against Djokovic early on.
Even at 45, Venus Williams shows no signs of retiring from the competitive arena just yet. She managed to secure one win at the Citi Open before bowing out in Cincinnati.
The US Open awarded Williams a wild card, setting her up against No. 11 seed Karolina Muchova in the opening round on Monday night.
Muchova has reached the US Open semifinals for the past two years, previously defeating Williams in their only career matchup during the 2020 US Open’s first round.
