Victoria Mboko delivers second round upset at French Open

Victoria Mboko (Sarah-Jade Champagne, Wikimedia Commons)

Victoria Mboko of Burlington, Ontario is in the third round of the 2025 French Open. On Wednesday, Mboko defeated Eva Lys of Germany 6-4, 6-4 in the second round. Based on the world rankings, Mboko’s win was considered an upset. Mboko is ranked 120th in the world, and Lys is ranked 59th.

This was Mboko’s first ever match against Lys and she looked in complete control. Mboko did a flawless job when it came to returning serve as Lys did not have a single ace. Mboko broke Lys five times in 12 opportunities, and won 70% of the points  of her first serve.

At 18 years of age, Mboko won her first two grand slam matches of her career at the 2025 French Open. In addition to beating Lys, she defeated Lulu Sun of New Zealand, 6-1, 7-6 in the first round on Sunday.

Next up for Mboko will be Qinwen Zheng of China, the eighth seed, in the third round on Friday. Mboko has never played Zheng before, and will now play her opponent at the Simonne-Mathieu Court at Roland Garros. Zheng had a remarkable 2024 tennis season. She reached the final of the 2024 Australian Open, and then won the gold medal in women’s tennis at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. 

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