Victoria Mboko was 12 years old when Naomi Osaka won her first of four career Grand Slam titles at the 2018 U.S. Open.
Clearly, it made an impression.
While the now 18-year-old Canadian has mentioned in several interviews that Serena Williams was the player she most looked up to growing up, Mboko told La Presse in 2021 that Osaka was one of her favourite players.
On Thursday, the two will be on opposite sides of the net in a National Bank Open presented by Rogers final absolutely nobody could see coming when this tournament started.
When told by a reporter about Mboko’s childhood love for her following Osaka’s semifinal win over Clara Tauson late Wednesday, the Japanese star grinned and said, “Oh God.”
“I don’t think that’s ever happened. I’m shook,” Osaka added, while laughing, when asked if she had experience playing an opponent who grew up with her as a role model. “No, I mean, it’s really cute. I guess I have to have a really good attitude (Thursday). I can’t let her not like me anymore.”
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National Bank Open final on Sportsnet
Canada’s Victoria Mboko will take on Japan’s Naomi Osaka in the final of the National Bank Open on Thursday. Watch the match live on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ starting at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT.
Osaka is hardly old at age 27, but she’s at a different stage of life after becoming a mother in 2023. This marks the first time Osaka will face a player born in 2006 (when Mboko was born) or later.
“It’s funny because I see her on TV and I was low-key like ‘That’s my little twin’ because we both have our blue dresses and our buns and everything,” said Osaka, who has been easy-going and smiling regularly in chats with the media this week, a sign she has found a better rhythm on court.
“I’m really honoured. I always said that I would love to play someone that looked up to me in a way, so it’s happening way sooner than I thought it would.”
Here’s a look at some storylines for the first final between unseeded players in the NBO women’s tournament since way back in 1979:
How is Mboko’s wrist?
Mboko said she was feeling a “lot better” after her three-set tiebreak win over Elena Rybakina on Wednesday. The Canadian fell early in the third set and took a medical timeout to get her right wrist taped up.
Of course, anyone’s going to feel much better after the most exciting win of their life. How she woke up Thursday and how she feels in practice less than three hours before the match will give her a better indication of whether the injury will be a factor.
Bianca Andreescu, remember, suffered an ankle injury on a match point in her first-round win over Barbora Krejcikova. She got up after being in intense pain and managed to notch two points to win. But two days later, she withdrew about an hour before her next match.
Considering the stakes, Mboko surely will try her best to compete even if she’s less than 100 per cent. But if Osaka notices a physical limitation on her opponent, she’s sure to try to take advantage.
Interestingly, Osaka had to retire from her only previous final this year in Auckland, dropping out of the Auckland championship match with an abdominal injury after beating Tauson 6-4 in the first set.
Can the crowd impact the match?
Without a doubt.
Fewer than 250 tickets were left as of Thursday afternoon, meaning we’re likely in for Mboko’s third sellout of the week. They hope to witness a Canadian winning an NBO singles title for the first time in Montreal.
The crowd was in full throat as Mboko rallied for her dramatic win over the 2022 Wimbledon champ on Wednesday. By the end, it wasn’t unusual for some fans to cheer when Rybakina missed a serve.
Afterward, Rybakina was a bit salty.
“That wasn’t nice, of course,” she said. “I (have)played in a lot of situations where the crowd was supporting the player, but I would say that here it was pretty tough from the very beginning. I already felt it from the first game we played, and especially when it’s in between the serves.”
Mboko, as you’d expect, is savouring the love. While Mboko was practising on a side court before Wednesday’s match, a cyclist outside the grounds on the other side of a tarped fence bellowed “Bonne Chance.”
“You always have everyone pumping you up as much as they can,” she said. “It really pulls me through in the tough moments where I’m maybe not as positive, but you know, everybody has been really positive with me this week. I feel really blessed to have that kind of support.”
Teenage treat
With a win Thursday, Mboko would become the second youngest player in the Open era (since 1968) to beat four Grand Slam champs in one tournament. In Montreal, she’s knocked off Rybakina, two-time Grand Slam champ Coco Gauff and 2020 Australian Open champ Sofia Kenin for three of her seven victories over top-50 opponents this year.
Ranked outside the top 300 at the start of the year, Mboko will be in the top 35 if she loses and top 25 if she wins. She started the seventh WTA main draw of her career at No. 85.
A win also would make Mboko the second-lowest-ranked WTA 1000 champion in the history of the format. Kim Clijsters won Indian Wells in 2025 ranked 133rd. WTA 1000 tournaments, like the NBO, are the highest level outside Grand Slams.
Osaka’s big week
If Mboko had lost earlier in the week, the resurgent Osaka would be the talk of the town.
After returning from her leave in 2023, Osaka has struggled to regain her top form. But everything has changed here as the world No. 49 entering the week has reached her first WTA 1000 final since Miami 2022. She’s one win away from her first tour-level title since the 2021 Australian Open.
Osaka has seven career tournament championships at the tour level.
Cashing in
Even if she loses, Mboko will almost double her earnings from this year.
The Toronto product has won $396,263 this year, and the runner-up here takes home $391,600.
The champion gets $752,275.
Mboko’s career earnings are $458,001. Osaka has won $22.8 million.
Resilient pair
Thursday’s final is the fourth tour-level championship match this decade between players who have saved match points to get there.
Mboko fought off one match point against Rybakina, while Osaka survived two match points in the second round against Liudmila Samsonova.
What’s next?
The Cincinnati Open, also a WTA 1000 event, actually starts Thursday before the NBO final.
By advancing to the Montreal final, Mboko and Osaka both received performance byes in the first round of Cincinnati.
There is no guarantee Mboko and Osaka will compete, though, after their long, gruelling runs here. They very well could opt for rest before the U.S. Open starts later this month.
If Mboko does go to Cincinnati, she’d face No. 14 seed Diana Shnaider of Russia in the second round on Saturday or Sunday.
Osaka would face No. 20 seed Linda Noskova of Czechia.
