“While the world sees a champion, we see someone who reflects the heart and spirit of Burlington.”
By TENNIS. com November 22, 2025
© Getty Images
Just after being nominated for the WTA’s Newcomer of the Year award, Victoria Mboko has received a special honor in her hometown. The 19-year-old was given the key to Burlington, Ontario on Friday for what local officials described as an “inspiring” journey on the WTA tour.
Mboko was born in Charlotte, North Carolina but moved to Canada when she was just 2 months old. Now, she calls Burlington, a city with nearly 200,000 residents located at the southwestern end of Lake Ontario, her home. Since 2019, Burlington has been presenting keys to notable residents to celebrate their accomplishments, and Mboko received hers at a newly-opened community center.
Adam van Koeverden, Secretary of State for Sport, mentioned that Mboko’s impressive run at the Omnium Banque Nationale in Montreal last August “stole the hearts of Canadians.” In her second WTA 1000 main draw event, she claimed a historic title by defeating players like Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina, and Naomi Osaka.
“We’ve always had great tennis players in Canada, but.. whether we had watched tennis before or not, everyone was a tennis fan for those weeks,” he said.
🎉 Proud moment for Vicky Mboko 🔑
Today, Burlington’s own Victoria “Vicky” Mboko received the Key to the City in recognition of her incredible rise-from winning the National Bank Open to inspiring young athletes across Canada 🇨🇦
Local leaders praised her determination,… pic. twitter. com/Xz Ege OZDZU
– Tennis Canada (@Tennis Canada) November 21, 2025
Read more: Victoria Mboko: ‘Legacy in motion’ captured in Rolling Stone Africa cover story
Local politician Angelo Bentivegna remarked that Mboko’s journey “has been nothing short of inspiring.”
“You’ve shown determination, humility and strength beyond your years,” he said. “While the world sees a champion, we see someone who reflects the heart and spirit of Burlington.”
In her remarks, Mboko celebrated her local community and took photos with students from nearby Ascension Catholic School. Even though she’s still a teenager, she shared that one of her goals is to raise tennis’ profile within Burlington.
“The community here is so welcoming and friendly,” she said. “We have almost everything we need around here and I have been and continue to be so blessed to live here and have the opportunities my family created for me. It’s something I don’t take lightly and I’ve set out as a goal in the future for myself to help provide and create opportunities for others. To that extent, if I were to ever have one wish it’d be to have more tennis courts here in Burlington.”
SPEECH: Victoria Mboko takes the mic after being crowned new Montreal champ2:42
Mboko rose more than 300 spots in the WTA rankings this year.
In addition to her Cinderella run in Montreal she made it to the third round at Roland Garros and added another title in Hong Kong to finish off her season.
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