After a breakthrough 2025 season, Victoria Mboko could have easily let fame overwhelm her at just 19. Yet the Canadian remains remarkably grounded, a rare composure in the fast-paced world of women’s tennis. And as the awards night concluded, she received the one major WTA honor for her incredible 2025 season, cementing her status as one of the sport’s brightest rising stars.
The Canadian teenager has been named the WTA’s Newcomer of the Year. The professional women’s tour announced its year-end award winners on Monday, confirming her rapid ascent.
Mboko, 19, from Toronto, climbed from outside the world’s top 300 to inside the top 20 during the 2025 season. The jump reflected consistency, confidence, and results across multiple levels of competition.
The highlight of her year came in August. Mboko won the WTA 1000 National Bank Open in Montreal. On her way to the title, she defeated four Grand Slam singles champions. The run ended with a victory over four-time major winner Naomi Osaka in the final, earning her first WTA Tour title.
[Twitter quote from Tennis Canada (@TennisCanada) congratulating Mboko]
Her season did not stop there. Mboko captured another WTA title in Hong Kong in November. Earlier in the year, she won four consecutive ITF World Tennis Tour titles. She also reached the third round of the French Open, showing her ability on clay.
She was also recently welcomed by Prime Minister Mark Carney at his office on Parliament Hill. She became the fourth Canadian to win the WTA newcomer award, following Carling Bassett, Eugenie Bouchard, and Bianca Andreescu.
Along the way, the International Tennis Federation has also announced its Class of 2025. Five rising players earned the honor after dominant seasons on the ITF World Tennis Tour. Their performances led to breakthroughs at the highest level of the sport. An expert panel selected them for their standout progress.
The Class of 2025 includes Canada’s Victoria Mboko, Indonesia’s Janice Tjen, Austria’s Lilli Tagger, Belgium’s Gilles Arnaud Bailly, and Croatia’s Luka Mikrut. They were chosen from a longlist of 19 candidates. The group now joins a respected pathway that recently featured Mirra Andreeva, Jakub Mensik, Learner Tien, and Iva Jovic. Victoria Mboko’s rise stands out even within that group.
And as she moves toward 2026, her coach has already sent a clear message after a historic season.
Nathalie Tauziat outlines even bigger goals for Victoria Mboko
Nathalie Tauziat has played a key role in one of the biggest breakthroughs of the 2025 WTA season. As Victoria Mboko’s coach, she has guided the Canadian through a rapid rise on tour. Her experience has helped shape Mboko into a consistent top-level competitor.
Tauziat is a former world No. 3 and a former Wimbledon runner-up. She is known for tactical intelligence and long-term planning. Those qualities now define Mboko’s development. The transition from junior prospect to elite professional has been carefully managed.
Mboko’s improvement has been steady and clear. Her game now blends physical power with growing tactical awareness. This balance has allowed her to challenge and defeat higher-ranked opponents. She no longer relies on talent alone.
In an interview with Clay Magazine, Tauziat praised Mboko’s landmark achievement in Canada. She said, “Victoria did something incredible by winning in Montreal, and now we have to set even bigger objectives. She is top-20 in the world, but she needs to improve her game further.”
Despite the scale of the success, Tauziat stressed that nothing changed internally. The Montreal title did not shift the team’s mindset or preparation. Long-term development remained the priority.
Tauziat explained the thinking behind that approach. “No, absolutely not. The tournament in Canada is always important, and we knew she was going to get a wild card. Doing well there was one of the goals for this year, and she did way more than we expected. We were really happy. The key was thinking only about the next match, about what comes next, and she did what she did.”
As the 2026 season approaches, expectations naturally rise. Mboko now carries the pressure of results and rankings. The challenge will be sustaining the same level of performance.
With Tauziat’s guidance, the focus remains on progress, not shortcuts, as the next chapter begins in couple of weeks.