Canada's Victoria Mboko hits a return to United States' Coco Gauff during the Italian Open tennis tournament, Friday, May 9, 2025, in Rome. (Alfredo Falcone/LaPresse via AP)Alfredo Falcone/The Associated Press
Victoria Mboko made the most of a chance opportunity Tuesday.
The 18-year-old from Toronto upset 25th-seed Magdalena Frech of Poland 6-3, 6-2 in the first round at Wimbledon.
Canada’s next generation set to make its mark on the court
Mboko made it into the main draw as a late entry due to Anastasia Potapova’s withdrawal. Mboko initially fell short of making it into the main draw after a three-set loss to Australia’s Priscilla Hon in her third and final qualifying match last Thursday.
After Frech tied it at 2-2 in the second set, Mboko won four straight games, closing out the match with a backhand unforced error from Frech.
Mboko fired two aces to one double fault, won 76 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on two of her six opportunities.
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 the All England Club 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.