The energy inside Montreal’s IGA Stadium was electric. Thousands came to see Canada’s rising star, Victoria Mboko, face a formidable test in Elena Rybakina. What they got was a thriller.
Mboko Wobbles Early Under Spotlight Pressure
Under the weight of expectation, Mboko’s nerves were evident. Her first set was flat—not due to a total collapse on serve, but because her second serve offered no protection. Rybakina, seasoned and ruthless, attacked it without hesitation and ran away with the opener.
Mboko couldn’t find rhythm, and Rybakina needed no invitation to dictate play. The Canadian teenager was simply overpowered.
But Then She Fought Back
The second set revealed a different side of Mboko.
No longer overawed, she matched Rybakina in intensity. The turning point came when Mboko broke serve to go up 5-3, thanks to a fearless push from the baseline. But with the set on her racquet, pressure crept back in. Unforced errors and a pair of timid serves gave Rybakina the break back.
Still, Mboko didn’t fold. She regrouped, held for 6-5 with authority, and then pounced. A slight hesitation from Rybakina was all the teenager needed. A clean break sealed the set. The crowd erupted. One set apiece.
Decider Delivered More Drama—and Pain
The final set was a battle of wills—and bodies. Mboko took a 2-1 lead but fell awkwardly on her hand, prompting a medical timeout. She returned visibly affected, but her level didn’t drop. Her serve remained steady, her footwork crisp, and her shot selection fearless.
After the medical timeout, Rybakina had to hold—and she did. 2-all. But would the Canadian’s wrist hold on serve? A missed volley put Mboko behind 15-30, and a ferocious backhand from Rybakina into the corner made it 15-40. Yet again, Mboko didn’t blink on the first two pressure points. But on the third, Rybakina unleashed a blistering backhand return that nailed the break.
Rybakina’s renewed aggression shifted the balance. Mboko, still feeling the physical toll, began to lose ground. The Kazakh consolidated the break and steered the match toward its conclusion.
A Hell of a Sixth Game in the Deciding Set
After the break, Rybakina stepped up to consolidate at 3-2—but what followed was a 10-minute war of wills in the sixth game.
She raced to a 30-0 lead, but squandered it just as quickly. Mboko pushed back to force break point, only for Rybakina to save it with a clutch serve. Back to deuce. Two more game points came and went. Still, Mboko refused to yield. She chased every ball like her tournament depended on it—because it did.
A fourth game point dissolved under pressure. Mboko erased it, too. The crowd could barely breathe as the game hit fifth deuce. Then came a breakthrough: a forehand miss from Rybakina handed Mboko another break opportunity, nine minutes in.
Yet again, Rybakina held her nerve—this time with a delicate touch at the net. Another game point emerged. Surely the fifth would be enough? Finally, with tension thick in the air, Rybakina found the edge. A risky second serve, struck with purpose, sealed the game. She had consolidated the break for 4-2, but not without surviving one of the most dramatic games of the match.
At 4-3, Mboko tried to shift momentum with a clever drop shot, but Rybakina read it early and countered with precision. The Kazakh took a 30–0 lead, and this time, she didn’t let it slip. A mishit return from Mboko gave Rybakina two game points, and she made no mistake—5–3.
The crowd refused to give up. The Montreal faithful stayed loud and loyal as the 18-year-old stepped up to serve. And Mboko, battered but not broken, delivered.
She crafted her way to 30–15, then 40–15, mixing depth and angles from the baseline to fend off Rybakina’s charge. A solid hold brought it to 4–5, and with it, a reminder to everyone inside IGA Stadium: It’s not over until it’s over.
An Equally Insane End to the Match
With Elena Rybakina serving for the match at 5–4, tension gripped the stadium.
A clean strike from Mboko forced 15–30, but Rybakina responded like a champion—stepping in on a short ball and ripping a forehand winner to level at 30–30. Another solid rally followed, and a deep approach earned Rybakina 40–30—match point on her serve.
But the finish line vanished as quickly as it appeared.
Rybakina pulled a forehand wide. A collective gasp from the crowd. She had missed. The match stayed alive.
Then came a twist. A second serve, vulnerable and floating, sat up perfectly for Mboko. She pounced. A thunderous return clipped the baseline—break point for 5–5.
And with it, pandemonium.
Mboko stepped in again and attacked the next second serve without hesitation. The crowd erupted. “Vicky! Vicky!” they chanted, voices rising, IGA Stadium now a cauldron. The fairytale was still alive.
Serving at 5–5, Mboko had a chance to reclaim momentum. After a couple of tightly contested deuces, a well-placed body serve seemed to have done the trick. But the finish escaped her.
A ferocious double fault followed, and frustration boiled over—Mboko slammed her heel into the court, the tension finally spilling out. Breakpoint Rybakina. The crowd hushed.
And then—another double fault.
Agony.
Just when it looked like Mboko was inches from holding and going up 6–5, the match turned. Two double faults, almost back-to-back, flipped the script. Instead of controlling the scoreboard, the young Canadian was left chasing it.
The Tiebreak: When Will Power Wrote the Story
Rybakina had the match on her racquet—again—but couldn’t close. A shaky service game surrendered the break right back, setting the stage for a fitting finale to one of the year’s boldest battles.
Into the tiebreak they went, and Mboko struck first. She jumped ahead 2–0, then 3–1, as Rybakina began to unravel. A double fault closed the gap to 3–2, and heartbreak hovered again. At 3–3, the tension inside IGA Stadium was unbearable.
The crowd roared. Could they lift their hero one more time?
Rybakina blinked first—an unforced forehand error handed Mboko a 4–3 lead. What followed was a brutal baseline war, with Rybakina going all-in to level at 4–4.
But Mboko wasn’t done dreaming.
On the next point, she went for broke, unleashing a fearless forehand down the line. 5–4. A few moments later, Rybakina missed again, and two match points sat in Mboko’s hands.
She only needed one.
With ice in her veins and belief in her heart, Victoria Mboko—just 18 years old—completed the upset. The willpower of a teenager outlasted the composure of a Grand Slam champion.