Victoria Mboko, as well as tennis fans everywhere, was given a gift. Serena Williams chose to return to professional tennis, and that began with a partnership with Mboko at the HSBC Championship, a lead-up to Wimbledon. The problem was that one match after playing next to Williams, the Canadian suffered a brutal injury.
To be sure, the doubles match didn't necessarily lead to the injury. Still, Mboko had rarely played doubles before and wasn't used to transitioning back and forth between singles and doubles. After taking her first doubles win with Williams, Mboko hurt her knee while playing Karolina Pliskova. Now, the rising WTA star is out for the foreseeable future.
That includes the Canadian Open in Toronto. The shame is that the event is Mboko's home tournament, and one she won in 2025 when she defeated Naomi Osaka in the final. That fully announced her arrival in professional tennis, and she was likely to do great things in 2026.
Victoria Mboko's tennis future is murky
She reached the final in Doha and Strasbourg this year, though she lost both. That didn't mean her next several final appearances would be losses. That she was making deep runs at tournaments at 19 years old implied she was on the cusp of sheer long-term greatness.
She might still get there, of course, but no one knows exactly when that will start again. Knee issues are nothing to sneeze at, especially for a tennis player tasked with sudden movements. That puts pressure on all joints, obviously, and that means a longer recovery between getting hurt.
The hope is that Victoria Mboko will be able to return by the US Open, but that might be too soon. She is so young that trying to force her way back from injury is meaningless. She has years left to play. Missing the second half of one year isn't going to be remembered that well if, in five years, she is challenging for major titles.
Mboko definitely has the skill set to do just that. She can hit with power from both wings, and her serve is effective and likely to improve. She would have learned a lot by playing next to Serena Williams. The pair was expected to participate together at Wimbledon, except for the Canadian's knee injury.
The future is still bright and might include Williams. Maybe Mboko will be more motivated to come back strong and begin dominating tournaments. That would indeed be a great tennis story if that unfolds.
