Victoria Mboko of Burlington, Ontario delivered a first round upset win in Washington, D.C. at the 2025 Mubadala Citi Open. Ranked 88th in the world, Mboko upset the 42nd ranked player Anastasia Potapova of Russia, 6-2, 6-4 on Monday.
Mboko read Potapova’s serve very well. Mboko broke Potapova five times in 13 opportunities, and outscored Potapova 78-63 when it came to total points. Mboko also won 62% of the points on her second serve, while Potapova only won 42%. This was their first ever meeting head-to-head.
Mboko will next play the third seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in the second round on Wednesday. This will be their first ever meeting. Rybakina won Wimbledon in 2022.
There are two more Canadians left in the Citi Open. On the women’s side, Leylah Annie Fernandez of Montreal, Quebec beat Maya Joint of Australia 6-3, 6-3 in the first round. Fernandez, the 2021 United States Open finalist, will next play Jessica Pegula of the United States, the number one seed, and 2024 United States Open finalist. Pegula has beaten Fernandez twice. The first time came in the third round of the 2024 Miami Open, 7-5, 6-4, and the second time came in the quarterfinals of Cincinnati in 2024, 7-5, 6-7, 7-6.
Meanwhile, Gabriel Diallo of Montreal, Quebec, is the 15th seed on the men’s side. In the second round on Tuesday, Diallo beat Fabian Maroszan of Hungary, 6-3, 6-4. Diallo had the huge advantage when it came to the serve. Diallo had 10 aces and zero double faults, and Maroszan had one ace and six double faults.
