PARIS — Victoria Mboko is into her first Grand Slam main draw after beating Slovenia’s Kaja Juvan 7-5, 6-3 in the final round of French Open qualifying Friday.
The 18-year-old from Toronto hit two aces, converted six of nine break-point opportunities and closed the match in 93 minutes on Court 12.
It’s the latest breakthrough in a season where she’s won 40 of 45 matches, mostly on the lower-tier ITF circuit, with five titles and eye-catching appearances at WTA events in Miami and Rome, where she took a set off world No. 2 Coco Gauff.
Mboko, who did not drop a set in qualifying, opens main-draw play Sunday against No. 45 Lulu Sun of New Zealand.
Mboko, looking to improve her current ranking of No. 122, joins Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., in the women’s singles draw at Roland-Garros, and fellow Canadians Félix Auger-Aliassime and Gabriel Diallo, both of Montreal, and Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont, on the men’s side.
Fernandez, ranked 27th in the world, opens against No. 34 Olga Danilovic of Serbia.
Shapovalov, ranked 27th on the men's side, opens against No. 48 Pedro Martinez of Spain. No. 29 Auger-Aliassime faces No. 39 Matteo Arnaldi of Italy, and Diallo, ranked 53rd, faces No. 18 Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina.
Auger-Aliassime's French Open tune-up came to an end Friday with a 6-1, 6-4 loss to Andrey Rublev in the semifinals of the Hamburg Open. The loss dropped Auger-Aliassime's record against the Russian to 1-7.
Still, getting in four competitive matches on clay at the ATP 500 event will help after Auger-Aliassime pulled out of the Italian Open earlier this month with a sore back.
Auger-Aliassime's three wins in Hamburg were his first on clay this season. He hadn't won on tour since a second-round victory in Miami back in March.
Fernandez and Diallo will also compete in doubles, while Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski teams up with New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe in women’s doubles.
Rob Shaw of North Bay, Ont., received a wild card into the wheelchair quad singles and doubles draws.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 23, 2025.
The Canadian Press
