Few would have predicted a Canadian Open final between Victoria Mboko and Naomi Osaka before this year’s tournament, though it looks set to be a perfect ending to a fascinating tournament.
World No 85 Mboko has set her home tournament alight in 2025, with the 18-year-old surging up the WTA Rankings as a result of her epic run.
The Canadian has beaten three Grand Slam champions during her breakout run, with notable wins over Coco Gauff in round four and then against ninth seed Elena Rybakina in Wednesday’s semi-final.
While Osaka is at a different stage of her career, this run is also important for the Japanese.
The four-time Grand Slam champion is now just one win away from her first tour-level title since the 2021 Australian Open, and is set to leapfrog back into the top 30 of the WTA Rankings after beating Clara Tauson.
Regardless of how Thursday’s final goes, Mboko and Osaka are currently set to immediately head to the US Midwest for the Cincinnati Open.
Action in Ohio is underway on Thursday, and the turnaround will be tight, though both women have now received a key benefit that could aid their quests.
When are Mboko and Osaka first set to play in Cincinnati?
Though Osaka and Mboko will both rise up the WTA Rankings off their back of their Canadian Open success, that does not translate into the Cincinnati draw.
With the two ranked 49th and 85th before the draw, respectively, both stars were unseeded in the event, meaning they would have to play opening-round matches, most likely on Friday.
In contrast, all 32 seeds, which include beaten Canadian Open semi-finalists Rybakina and Tauson, receive an opening-round bye.
However, thanks to reaching the final, the two have now received an extra advantage.
Despite their unseeded status, Osaka and Mboko have received performance byes heading into Cincinnati, meaning they will not compete until the second round of action.
That means that Mboko, on the top half of the draw, may not have to play until Saturday, while Osaka may be able to rest until Sunday due to being on the bottom half.
The special exemptions that both women have received mean that the draw drops from a 96-player event to 94 players, with two fewer players now entering as lucky losers.
Though they have received byes, neither faces an easy draw in Cincinnati.
Mboko is set to take on 14th seed Diana Shnaider, while Osaka will face 20th seed Linda Noskova.
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Will they actually play?
The lengthy and often controversial nature of the extended WTA 1000 events means that players could face playing a huge chunk of matches this summer, ahead of the US Open.
Because of that, it may ultimately come as no surprise to see one or both of Mboko and Osaka pull out of Cincinnati, even with their performances byes.
Mboko addressed the situation earlier this week, admitting that she was unsure if she would play.
“Well, right now, I mean, I’m entered in, but I’m not sure,” she explained.
“I want to see how I’m going to do here first. It’s still up in the air. Maybe, maybe not. I don’t know.”
Osaka has traditionally been very selective when it comes to her schedule, though she may want to strike while the iron’s hot, with her run coming off the back of a challenging season to date.
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The post Why Canadian Open stars Naomi Osaka and Victoria Mboko have received special Cincinnati Open boost appeared first on Tennis365.
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