The WTA could not have envisioned a more interesting National Bank Open matchup than that of its unseeded finalists: Naomi Osaka and Victoria Mboko.
Each player’s journey to this final is an incredible one. The only question left is who wins?
Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka is the former World No. 1 and four-time Grand Slam champion who has struggled to find her form and stride since returning to the WTA Tour in 2024. She returned more mature, a byproduct of motherhood, and grateful.
When she is on, her game is poetry in motion. It is so fun to watch, with only Karolina Muchova being a close comparison.
She almost won her first WTA title as a mom in January at the ASB Classic but suffered an injury and had to retire in the final against Clara Tauson. Osaka was looking for answers and dropped to the Challenger level (WTA 125) and won her first clay court tournament and first tournament as a mother in early May.
Osaka entered the French Open with more confidence from the Challenger win and from last year’s valiant run that was just short of completing a blockbuster upset of Iga Swiatek. Her French Open performance this year (a first round loss to Paula Badosa) seemed to temporarily break her spirit as Osaka broke down in tears in the press conference.
Naomi Osaka switched coaches from Patrick Mouratoglou to Iga Swiatek’s former coach Tomasz Wiktorowski in Montreal. She faced match points against Liudmila Samsonova in the second round, and from that point on, she has looked like vintage Naomi.
Simply SUBLIME ✨
Incredible effort from Naomi Osaka in her comeback win against Samsonova!#OBN25 pic.twitter.com/RfniWJBSSp
— wta (@WTA) July 30, 2025
Will that translate into a WTA 1000 win against a Canadian teenager who will have massive crowd support on Thursday night? Osaka has seven career WTA titles but has not played in a WTA 1000 level final since March 2022 (Miami Open).
Victoria Mboko
🎾 Meet Victoria Mboko 🇨🇦, a tennis Princess of DR Congo native, getting tested in her WTA 1000 main draw debut in #MiamiOpen.
The 18-year-old wildcard now has the best win of her life. She’s won 5 ITF titles this year & her record in 2025 is 28-1.
📸 WTA#LadiesInSports pic.twitter.com/HoUr4JIrte
— Ladies in Sports (@LISinternationl) March 20, 2025
While it may seem that Victoria Mboko‘s run in Montreal is a Cinderella story, it is not. Mboko, 18, has been capturing attention in recent months for her stellar play. She has a strong serve, athleticism, stays composed, and does not overplay big points.
MBOKO MAGIC 🥹✨
The moment Victoria Mboko reached her first final and on home soil! 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/U5n53IyIq3
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) August 7, 2025
She has defeated three Grand Slam champions en route to the final: Coco Gauff, Sofia Kenin, and Elena Rybakina. Mboko will face a fourth Grand Slam champion in the final, the one that happens to be her childhood idol: Naomi Osaka.
Most concerning is the wrist injury she sustained when falling on the court during a rally with Rybakina. She defeated Rybakina after a medical timeout where it was wrapped but appeared already swollen. How that wrist feels a day later may end up being the biggest story of the final.
Victoria Mboko takes a medical timeout after hurting her wrist. pic.twitter.com/LJILhxT3Wv
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) August 7, 2025
Mboko seeks her first ever WTA title 19 days shy of her 19th birthday.
Watch Naomi Osaka vs. Victoria Mboko in the National Bank Open women’s singles final at 6 PM ET on the Tennis Channel.
