Howdy, y’all and Happy Tennis Tuesday! We’re halfway through the Montreal-Cincinnati double and inching closer to this year’s final Grand Slam at the U.S. Open. A new dark horse has risen out of Canada with Victoria Mboko’s shocking run to her first WTA tile, knocking out Naomi Osaka in three sets.
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She’s 18. She started the year ranked outside the top 300. She got into this event with a wild card. And she didn’t just sneak her way through — she bulldozed the draw. Four Grand Slam champions fell to Mboko’s stellar play: Sofia Kenin, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina (saving match point), and Naomi Osaka in the final. The last teenager to do something like that in one tournament? Serena Williams.
This wasn’t just any title. She’s the first Canadian woman ever to win the event in Montreal, and only the third in the Open Era to win it anywhere (Bianca Andreescu in 2019 and Faye Urban in 1969). And she did it in her first WTA final. In her home country. Against a former world No. 1. It’s kind of unreal.
While Mboko was making her own history, Cincinnati was quietly making itself over. This year’s Cincinnati Open is the first in its new form: a 14-day, 96-player draw, on a campus that’s been completely transformed.
This year marks the debut of a $260 million renovation of the Lindner Family Tennis Center and it’s not hyperbole to say the tournament has reinvented itself. The footprint has doubled to over 40 acres. There are now 31 courts — up from 21 — including 10 new practice courts (with some indoor, to boot) and even pickleball and padel spaces to keep players entertained.
The centerpiece is Champions Court, a sunken 2,300-seat stadium designed for shade, atmosphere, and those up-close experience that make you feel like you’re part of the action. Around it, the grounds feel more like a park than a sports complex. There’s a ton of greenery, shaded pavilions, and a 1,400-seat dining plaza where you can eat all the Skyline your heart desires.
Players get a major upgrade, too. The new two-story clubhouse is 56,000 square feet of player-first design. Things like recovery rooms, gyms, lounges, dining, coach locker rooms, even broadcast and gaming zones. The goal is simple: make Cincinnati a stop players look forward to, not just one they need to get through before New York.
For someone from Ohio, I’ve discussed how awesome the tournament is and it being underrated on the tennis calendar. These upgrades needed to happen to really embrace the new calendar format that unfortunately isn’t going anywhere. The traditionalist in me misses the old court color, but I do admit that the more I watch the tournament throughout the last week, the more I’m liking it. My friends who have gone have had rave reviews and the players seem to be enjoying their time too. Time will tell if it’ll hit the level of Indian Wells and Miami, though.
On to links!
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This Week in Women’s Tennis
The U.S. Open announced their prize money for the 2025 tournament, increasing 20% to $90 million.
Stefano Vukov, the coach of Elena Rybakina, had his suspension lifted by the WTA and is able to fully be credentialed at tournaments.
Naomi Osaka caught some heat for her reaction after her loss in the Montreal final, but we have to also remember that tennis is perhaps the only sport you can have a devastating loss and then be required to speak after.
This week’s must-read is on Vicky Duval, whose career was cut short from cancer and injuries but is finding her voice as a commentator.
This is great:
Jessica Pegula is looking forward to playing mixed doubles at the U.S. Open, but admits the tournament rolled out their information the wrong way.
While Caroline Garcia is looking forward to retiring at 31, Venus Williams isn’t letting her age stop her from competing.
Megan Gornet was a Division I player at Vanderbilt and her experience helped her road to becoming the WTA’s fertility specialist.
Alyssa Ahn won the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 16s and 18s Nationals and will receive a main draw wildcard into the U.S. Open.
Jessica Bouzas Maneiro is having a career summer and credits it all to a shift in her mindset and keeping things simple.
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Tweet of the Week
Well done to the Cincy content team.
Five at The IX: Montreal Week 2
Q. You came into this tournament as a young, upcoming player, and you’re leaving as a star. There will be much more attention. There will be noise around you and all of that. How do you hope you can manage this new situation for you?
VICTORIA MBOKO: Well, yeah, I mean, I would understand why there would be a lot of attention around it. I mean, it’s my first-ever WTA championship and title. Yeah, I understand why there would be such a noise around it, but you know, I like to keep things very simple, especially in my life.
I surround myself with people who have known me for so long, and I just like to keep a small circle. I like to be really relaxed and calm. So I think going forward, I just want to keep the same routines that I’m usually used to.
I don’t want to put so much pressure on myself just because of something that happened this week, because life goes on. There’s always another tournament, whether win or lose. I’m just happy to live the moment. Once it’s passed, it’s passed.
Q. Obviously it’s not the result you would have wanted today, but it’s been such an incredible week. You know, back in a 1000 final, and like you were celebrating earlier in the week, that you boosted your ranking and were able to make US Open seedings once again. I know it’s tough at times like this, but there must be lots of positives you can take from this week.
NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah, I mean, definitely. I think it’s kind of funny. This morning I was very grateful. I don’t know why my emotions flipped so quickly, but I’m really happy to have played the final.
I think Victoria played really well. I completely forgot to congratulate her on the court. Yeah, I mean, she did really amazing, so…
Q. How impressed are you with how Vicky has handled the added spotlight and becoming the tournament’s headliner? I mean, you talked about even her opponents are taking notice. Has she surprised you this week with how she’s handled all that?
NATHALIE TAUZIAT: Not really. I mean, I think she make a decision in November-December by herself to come back with us. It’s her decision, and I think she respect her decision. Since the beginning of the year, she’s really focused on what she has to do. Today she have the results of that.
I don’t know if her, she’s surprised or not, but she doesn’t show anything like that. She’s really focused on what she has to do. She want to continue. So far she concentrate on her tennis.
Outside of the court she smile same, she’s the same person. So I think she manage good so far.
Q. How would you describe your season so far?
ELENA RYBAKINA: Well, the season overall is not bad. Of course, I had more success in the previous years, and it was a bit tough for me at the beginning of the year.
I feel like I used to play much better in the first part of the year usually, but it took me some time to get back to level I want to be. I think that now I’m happy how the things are going, and hopefully I can change a little bit what was happening in the past years and play even better in the second part of the year.
Q. I wonder if you could just kind of put in a nutshell what Victoria’s run this week has meant to your tournament and the many ways that I suppose she’s had an impact here this week?
VALERIE TETREAULT: Yeah, she’s had a huge impact obviously on the tournament. You start the event, and you never know what are going to be the storylines, and obviously it’s been all about Vicky Mboko.
I mean, I think we feel that Montreal, Quebec, and even across the country, right now everybody is following what’s happening at this tournament and is inspired by this young woman, only 18 years of age, who keeps surprising us by her composure, her maturity, her level of play as well, and the self-belief that she has.
I think she’s showing us basically that — and she said it last night — anything is possible. I think she has a bright future ahead of her. It’s great obviously for, yes, the popularity of this event, but even more so, I think for the popularity of tennis.
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