Clara Tauson highlights the two biggest weapons which Victoria Mboko has right now

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Victoria Mboko is fast becoming a household name in Canada as she continues to impress on the WTA Tour.

The 18-year-old Canadian travelled to Montreal hoping to make a deep run, but likely didn’t expect things to go quite this well.

Beginning her campaign with wins over Kimberly Birrell, Sofia Kenin, and Marie Bouzkova, Mboko advanced to the last 16, where she met world number two Coco Gauff.

Picking up the biggest win of her professional career, Mboko defeated Gauff in straight sets 7-6, 6-1, to advance to her maiden WTA 1000 quarterfinal.

Carrying on in that same vein of form, Mboko beat Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, booking her place in the semis.

As Mboko prepares to take on Elena Rybakina for a place in the final, her fellow semifinalist has highlighted the Canadian’s two biggest weapons.

Clara Tauson says Victoria Mboko’s serve and backhand are her two biggest weapons

Mboko isn’t the only youngster to have impressed in Montreal, as Denmark’s Clara Tauson has qualified for her second WTA 1000 semifinal of the season, picking up several big wins along the way.

• 2025 Canadian Open 2R – Clara Tauson defeated Lucia Bronzetti, 6-1, 6-2
• 2025 Canadian Open 3R – Clara Tauson defeated Yulia Starodubtseva, 6-3, 6-0
• 2025 Canadian Open 4R – Clara Tauson defeated Iga Swiatek, 7-6, 6-3
• 2025 Canadian Open QF – Clara Tauson defeated Madison Keys, 6-1, 6-4

During her post-match press conference following her quarterfinal win over Madison Keys, Tauson was asked whether she had spent much time with Mboko.

“Not a lot. We practiced one time in D.C. last week. I don’t know when it was, but in D.C,” she said.

“Yeah, sweet girl. Obviously, she’s young, and she’s doing great. She has a lot of firepower as well, and I think she’s feeling great here at home.

“I haven’t watched too many of her matches, but I mean, she’s in the semifinals, so she’s playing great.

Tauson proceeded to pick out the two biggest ‘weapons’ in Mboko’s game, which have fired her to the Canadian Open semifinals.

“I mean, I think she’s serving well,” she said.

“I think her backhand is obviously a big weapon. Yeah, I mean, I think she has a lot of confidence, and you can see that in her game, as well.”

Tauson’s analysis was accurate, as Mboko’s serving has been mightily impressive in Montreal.

Mboko will certainly be hoping to produce another stellar serving performance when she takes on Rybakina in the semifinals.

Victoria Mboko set for top 50 debut after Montreal

Regardless of what happens in her semifinal with Rybakina, Mboko will be a top 50 player when the next set of rankings are released.

The world number 85 is set to jump 37 places in the rankings, up to 48th.

She may not be done there, however, as Mboko could make further jumps should she win her semifinal and final matches.

• Victoria Mboko’s Live Ranking – 48th
• Victoria Mboko’s ranking if she wins her SF – 34th
• Victoria Mboko’s ranking if she wins the F – 24th

If Mboko were to go all the way and win the Canadian Open title, she would become the new world number 24.

She would, therefore, be seeded for the US Open later this month, helping her avoid the top players during the early rounds.

However, as she’s shown in Montreal, Mboko doesn’t need to avoid the top players, as the teenager possesses the ability to beat someone as talented as Gauff.

It will be a tough ask for Mboko to win the Canadian Open, but with the crowd behind her, there’s truly no limit to what she can achieve.

Mboko will play Rybakina for a place in the 2025 Canadian Open final on Wednesday, August 6.