‘Outstanding’ Mboko hailed as role model for young Canadian tennis players, girls of colour

After her extraordinary win at the National Bank Open in Montreal, 18-year-old tennis sensation Victoria Mboko is being celebrated as a role model for the next generation of Canadian athletes.

The phenom from Burlington took the National Bank Open title on Thursday after defeating four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the final match.

Yosabeth Agonafer of the Alberta-based group Black Girls in Tennis says Mboko’s victory on Canadian soil paves the way for more representation of Black Canadian women in tennis.

She says many girls of colour look up to athletes like Serena and Venus Williams and Coco Gauff, and it’s inspiring to see a Black Canadian player succeed on the world stage.

Doug Burke, president of ACE Tennis and one of Mboko’s coaches during her training days in Burlington, says she is showing younger Canadians of “any colour or upbringing” that it’s possible to achieve the heights of success.

He says it was “overwhelming” to watch the rising star give a “quite outstanding” performance at the tournament.

Cassidy McMackon, The Canadian Press