After his extraordinary victory at the National Bank Open in Montreal, the 18 -year -old tennis sensation Victoria Mboko is celebrated as a model to follow for the next generation of Canadian athletes.
The phenomenon, which was born in North Carolina and grew up in Burlington, Ontario, took the title of the Open of the National Bank on Thursday after defeating the four-time Grand Slam Naomi Osaka winner 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the final match.
On Friday, he fired 61 places to the best of race No. 24 in the world ranking. She is scheduled to be a player planted at the US Open in New York, which will begin at the end of this month.
Yosabeth Agonafer of the group based in Alberta Black Girls in Tennis says that Mboko’s victory on the Canadian soil paw the way for a greater representation of black Canadian women in the tennis.
“It was not just about winning. He was also inspiring for many young women, especially women in color,” Agonafer said in an interview.
“Seeing a young Canadian win the title on Canadian soil, I think it is quite surprising … it is very powerful because it paves the way for larger things.”
She said that many color girls admire athletes like Serena and Venus Williams and Coco Gautff, and it is inspiring to see a Canadian black player to succeed in a great stage.
“It is not (alone) its gain. It is visibility, it is validation, it is opening doors for young women, for women of color. I think it simply opens the stage worldwide and shows that it is possible (win), that excellence has no limits.”
‘She just wanted to play all the time’
Doug Burke, president of Ace Tennis and one of Mboko’s coaches during his training days in Burlington, said he is showing the youngest Canadians of “any color or education” that it is possible to achieve the heights of success.
“We knew that Vicky was out for great things and went up to do great things, but seeing her play as she did in the type of competition she faced in the course of the tournament and the composure she took in those games was quite outstanding,” he said.
Victoria Mboko limited an unreal race in Montreal to capture the title of the National Bank Open.
Burke, who trained Mboko from the moment he was four years old until he was 12 years old, said it is a model to follow particularly exceptional because he illustrates that it is not only the physical ability of an athlete, but an attitude outside the court that leads to success.
“I think she enters that role without even trying.
Burke said the competitive spirit and Mboko’s laser approach in court captured his attention from the beginning. “He wanted to beat his older brothers since he was four, five, six years old, and they are seven, eight, nine years older than her,” he said.
“I had passion. I just wanted to play all the time.”
Burke said Mboko began to compete in tournaments under 18 when he was 12 years old and played against age groups who were six years ahead of her.
“I know that at that time they were trying to find out if she was too young to play,” he said. “This advanced was beyond his years.”
‘I’m happy to live in the moment’
Mboko is jumping the current tournament in Cincinnati and, on the other hand, will look towards the next US Open. She will be a player planted in the last Grand Slam of the season.
Mboko said he likes to be “really relaxed and calm”, which will serve her well in the Flushing Meadows pressure cooking stage from August 24.
“I think in the future, I just want to keep the same routines that I am usually used to,” he said. “I don’t want to press so much just for something that happened this week, because life continues.
“There is always another tournament, either (i) win or lose. I am happy to live the moment. Once it happens, it happens.”
In the National Bank Open, four Grand Slam, Osaka, Sofía Kenin, Coco -Gautf and Elena Rybakina champions, all fell to the Toronto player.
Mboko is now the best classified Canadian on the tour, moving two positions ahead of Leylah Fernández de Laval, which. He also joined Mirra Andreeva in Russian in fifth classified, who is also 18 years old, as the only players under 20 among the top 25.
