WIMBLEDON — Victoria Mboko wasn’t even supposed to be in the draw, and then she delivered a Canada Day stunner at Wimbledon.
The 18-year-old from Toronto was added to the tournament just three hours before her match after Anastasia Potapova withdrew.
She made the most of it, upsetting 25th-seeded Magdalena Frech of Poland 6-3, 6-2 in Tuesday’s first round.
Frech entered the tournament ranked No. 24 in the world, while Mboko sits at No. 97.
Mboko had originally fallen short of qualifying with a three-set loss to Australia’s Priscilla Hon in her final match last Thursday.
After Frech pulled even at 2-2 in the second set, Mboko reeled off four straight games, closing out the match with a backhand unforced error from Frech.
Mboko fired three aces to three double faults, won 77 per cent of her first-serve points and converted five of 10 break chances.
The rising Canadian star, who reached the third round of the French Open in May, moves on to face 23-year-old American Hailey Baptiste in the second round at the All England Club.
Earlier, Denis Shapovalov, of Richmond Hill, Ont., was upset in the first round, falling 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 to Argentina’s Mariano Navone.
The 27th seed double-faulted 11 times and won just 53 per cent of his second-serve points.
Navone, ranked No. 41 in the world, broke Shapovalov six times in the match.
It’s Shapovalov's earliest exit at Wimbledon since 2019.
Fellow Canadians Leylah Fernandez, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Gabriel Diallo remain in singles competition.
Fernandez, of Laval, Que., faces Laura Siegemund on Wednesday, while Montreal's Auger-Aliassime meets Jan-Lennard Struff, and Diallo, also of Montreal, takes on No. 5 Taylor Fritz.
Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and partner Erin Routliffe of New Zealand, the No. 2 seeds in women’s doubles, are set to open their Wimbledon campaign Wednesday against China’s Saisai Zheng and Xinyu Wang.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 1, 2025.
The Canadian Press
