Victoria Mobko has confirmed her injury status ahead of her title run at the Canadian Open, admitting that it is important to take care of her wrist ahead of the US Open.
The 18-year-old enjoyed a sensational fortnight in Montreal as she became the second-youngest player in the Open Era to defeat four women’s Grand Slam champions in a single tournament, as she beat 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin, two-time Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff and 2022 Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina to reach the final.
In the showpiece match, she beat former world No 1 and four-time major champion Naomi Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 to win her maiden WTA Tour singles trophy in front of her home fans.
But there was a moment where Mboko feared that she might not be able to face Osaka in the final as she struggled with a wrist injury after she took a tumble during her semi-final victory over Rybakina.
“Today was such an eventful day actually,” the Canadian said. “I woke up this morning, and I actually had my wrist a little bit swollen from yesterday’s fall, and we quickly went to the hospital actually to do an MRI and an X-ray before I came to the courts to practice today.
“So once we got the green light that nothing too serious was going on in the wrist, I came here and practiced real fast and prepared for my match. So I think today regarding all the events that I did, it feels a lot sweeter (smiling).”
Mboko added: “I was pretty nervous, I could say, especially when I woke up this morning. It was pretty swollen, and it was really stiff and hard to move. So we decided to go to do an MRI and an X-ray just to make sure that nothing too serious was happening, that I could have the possibility of playing.
“When I got the green light, I just had to make sure I saw the physios, and we taped it up properly before the match and a very solid tape job. Yeah, I just did as much as I could to prepare for the match.”
Victoria Mboko News
Who are Victoria Mboko’s parents and siblings? Canadian star’s family inspired her rise
Who is Victoria Mboko’s coach? How former Wimbledon finalist is guiding rising star
The Cincinnati Open is next on the calendar with the WTA 1000 event already underway in Ohio in the United States and Mboko and Osaka had been handed performance byes into the second round following their Canada final.
She is due to face 14th seed Diana Schainder Diana Shnaider in her opener, but when asked to clarify her status for the Cincy tournament, Mboko replied: “Yeah, I’m not planning on playing Cincinnati at the moment. I just want to take care of my wrist a little bit right now, and I think it’s just very close and sudden for me to go there and play again I think in, like, two days.
“I think I’m just going to sit out on that one and prepare for the upcoming tournaments.”
If she doesn’t play in Cincinnati, then her next top-level event will be the 2025 US Open where she will be seeded following her surge to No 24 in the WTA Rankings, although she could still accept a late wildcard entry into the Tennis in the Land or Monterrey Open the week before the final Grand Slam of the year.
The post Victoria Mboko gives huge injury and Cincinnati Open update after fairytale Canadian Open run appeared first on Tennis365.
Leave a Reply