Victoria Mboko elected to skip the Cincinnati Open after winning her first WTA title in Montreal.
Mboko beat Naomi Osaka to win the Canadian Open on her main draw debut at 18 years old.
As a result of her run to the title, Mboko has achieved a feat only Serena Williams can better.
Despite her run to the title, Mboko was forced to go to hospital and subsequently withdrew from her next tournament.
Nathalie Tauziat explains why Victoria Mboko has withdrawn from the Cincinnati Open
After winning her first WTA title at the Canadian Open, Mboko has risen 61 places up to world number 24.
This means that she will be seeded for her debut appearance at the US Open this year, which may be a big relief for other top players who will avoid playing Mboko until at least the third round.
Mboko is now predicted to be one of the US Open favourites, something that her coach Nathalie Tauziat appears to agree with when explaining her decision to withdraw from the Cincinnati Open.
The Canadian had some physical concerns in Montreal, with Mboko suffering a wrist injury and Tauziat believes that she is capable of ‘doing something big’ in New York.
“After Roland Garros, when we defined the schedule up to the US Open, we set some goals,” Tauziat told Tennis365.com.
“Based on the way she’s playing, we know she’s capable of doing something big in New York. We want to focus 100% on that tournament, arriving well prepared and injury-free.
“After Montreal, it was vital to manage the schedule well, which is why we’re not going to Cincinnati.”
What happened when Victoria Mboko played US Open juniors?
This year will be the first time that Mboko has played the senior edition of the US Open, but she did make one appearance at the junior tournament in 2022.
Mboko was just 16 years old at the time, and managed to reach the semifinals in her debut appearance at the New York major.
| US Open Girls 2022 | Victoria Mboko Result |
| First Round | Mboko (9) beat Kaitlin Quevedo, 6-4 6-2 |
| Second Round | Mboko (9) beat Rebecca Munk Mortensen (Q), 6-4 6-3 |
| Third Round | Mboko (9) beat Iva Jovic (WC), 6-2 6-2 |
| Quarterfinal | Mboko (9) beat Celine Naef (4), 7-5 2-6 7-5 |
| Semifinal | Alexandra Eala (10) beat Mboko (9), 6-1 7-6(5) |
The Canadian eventually lost out in the semifinals to Alexandra Eala, who had a breakout run at the Miami Open herself earlier this year.
Both Mboko and Eala will make their US Open main draw debuts this year, that begins on Sunday, August 24.
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