The true rising star of the tennis world! At just 18, Mbogu has become the center of attention.

In the past two weeks at the WTA 1000 Montreal tournament, while top-ranked players like Gauff, Swiatek, and Pegula faced early exits, the dream run of 18-year-old local hope Mbogu has brought new stories and expectations to women's tennis. This wildcard entrant stunned the world by defeating world number two Gauff in just 62 minutes in the fourth round, now making her way into the semifinals on the big stage in her hometown.

Mbogu

Image: Visual China

In 2025, 18-year-old Mbogu is rapidly rising as one of the most promising and exciting new stars in women's tennis. Earlier this year, she achieved an impressive 22-match winning streak on the ITF circuit, capturing four singles titles, and followed it up by winning another title at the W75 Porto event in March. By May, Mbogu broke through the qualifiers at the WTA 1000 Rome tournament, taking a set off Gauff in the second round, and then reached the highest-level final of her career at the WTA 125 Palma event (defeating Wang Xinyu in the quarterfinals). Her clay season peaked at the French Open, where she advanced through three rounds of qualifiers and made her Grand Slam main draw debut, reaching the third round (where she lost to Zheng Qinwen). Although she fell short in the final round of Wimbledon qualifiers, she entered the main draw as a lucky loser and secured a first-round victory.

Before the start of this WTA 1000 Montreal tournament, Mbogu's world ranking had already climbed to No. 85, considering she was outside the top 300 at the beginning of the year. After reaching the semifinals in Montreal, her current live ranking has risen to No. 46.

Although Mbogu represents Canada, she was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, and is the youngest tennis player among four siblings. Her family later moved to Toronto, and her parents, Cyprien and Godi, hail from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. While her parents are not professional athletes, the family has a strong tennis atmosphere, with her father Cyprien being an avid fan: "In Congo, I often watched legendary players like Agassi, Courier, and Graf with my friends."

Influenced by this family environment, all four children took up tennis. Mbogu's sister Gracia and brother Kevin represented American college tennis teams. She started playing tennis at the age of four. "In my childhood memories, it seems I was always watching tennis matches, spending more time watching tennis than playing with toys or watching TV. Growing up in such a tennis atmosphere, you naturally want to participate. I didn't want to be left behind; I wanted to do the same things as my siblings. So, I begged my parents to let me play more, and they enrolled me in a tennis academy in Burlington, Ontario," Mbogu recalls.

Image: Visual China

Since the age of seven, Mbogu has stood out in various competitions, winning regional and national events, ultimately being selected by the Tennis Canada Association. She trained for a year at the Justine Henin Tennis Academy in Florida and Belgium and has trained at the National Tennis Centre in Montreal. Now, she divides her training time between Montreal and Toronto.

In 2018, 12-year-old Mbogu reached the finals of the prestigious "Orange Bowl" U14 division. In 2022, she made it to the singles semifinals at both Wimbledon and the US Open in the junior category. She also excelled in doubles, finishing as a runner-up in the junior doubles at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon with compatriot Kayla Cross. In August of that year, Mbogu claimed her first professional title at the W25 Saskatoon event.

However, her fortunes changed when Mbogu suffered a left knee tendon tear in 2022, preventing her from competing from October of that year until March of the following year. Though still early in her career, this young Canadian has already tasted the bitter experience of injury, making her realize the importance of body care: "It's not common to get injured at such a young age, but it made me more focused on taking care of my body, learning to spend more time warming up, stretching, and mastering all the correct recovery methods."

Mbogu possesses powerful strokes and a highly threatening serve, with excellent net play and comprehensive skills. At just 18, she still has immense potential for growth. After her match against Mbogu at the French Open, Zheng Qinwen praised her highly in an interview: "I think she is an excellent player. She has great power in her shots, serves well, and moves well. I can assure you this won't be our last encounter; there will be many more in the future. She is definitely going to become one of the best players in the world because she is very powerful, at a high level, very young, and has a lot of potential."

At 6 AM Beijing time tomorrow, Mbogu will step onto the center court in Montreal once again, aiming for her first 1000 tournament final in front of the home crowd, facing former Wimbledon champion and 9th seed Rybakina. Will this young talent astonish the world once more? Let's wait and see.