Montreal magic: Canadian teen Mboko beats Osaka for 1st title

Victoria Mboko's sensational run in Montreal is complete.

The 18-year-old Canadian won the National Bank Open, defeating four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 on Thursday to claim her first WTA Tour title in front of a raucous crowd.

Mboko, a virtual unknown prior to the tournament on home soil, had never previously reached the quarterfinal at a tour-level event before her magical showing in Montreal.

The teenager, ranked 337th at the start of the year, upset four Grand Slam champions en route to her maiden title, taking down Coco Gauff and Sofia Kenin before rousing comebacks against Elena Rybakina and Osaka in the semis and final, respectively.

Mboko is only the third Canadian in the Open era to win the country's national event, joining Faye Urban (1969) and Bianca Andreescu (2019).

"When I was younger these kinds of achievements seemed so far away," an emotional Mboko said during an on-court interview after the biggest victory of her burgeoning career.

Thursday's win will lift Mboko to No. 24 in the world, making her the highest-ranked Canadian ahead of Leylah Fernandez. Mboko will be seeded at the US Open later this month.

Osaka, meanwhile, was seeking her first title since winning the Australian Open in 2021. The former World No. 1, who spent time away from the court for both a mental health break and maternity leave, was appearing in her first 1000-level final since 2022.

She took the first set in just 37 minutes, but unraveled after that as Mboko came roaring back to hoist the trophy and make a huge statement ahead of the year's final Grand Slam.

Both players struggled to hold serve - there were 13 service breaks in 25 games - but Mboko, despite being far less experienced, showed greater composure in the final set to record a win she won't soon forget.