Watching how Victoria Mboko sliced through the National Bank Open competition and took down four Grand Slam winners to her first WTA title, it's hard to imagine the 18-year-old Canadian was once nervous before tennis matches and easily flustered on the court.

Following a stunning and memorable victory over former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka in Montreal, Mboko discussed on Monday how she wanted 2025 to be different on the court after finishing last year ranked 350th.

"I wanted to have a different mindset going into this year. I wanted to be very confident with myself, confident with my team and comfortable. I wanted to have a good support system," Mboko told Anastasia Bucsis at CBC Sports headquarters in Toronto, just 57 kilometres east of her native Burlington, Ont.

"I think sometimes in tennis, the mental aspect is almost more important than what you're able to produce on court and your talent and ability to do something. If you have a clear mindset of what you want to do, nothing's going to stop you."

Making strides at controlling her emotions, Mboko noted, has been a key element of her improvement.

"On court, a lot of thoughts are racing through my head but when you're positive with yourself and stay comfortable and confident, you don't think about it too much. When you don't think and [just] play, it's going good," added the American-born daughter of Congolese parents, who is now ranked 24th and higher than any other Canadian singles player.

As she raised the National Bank Open trophy before an appreciative crowd of 11,000 at IGA Stadium last Thursday evening, Mboko understood it was a special moment in tennis history. She became the third Canadian to win the hometown tournament in the Open Era, joining Bianca Andreescu (2019) and Faye Urban (1969), and the first to do so in Montreal.

WATCH | Mboko talks about her National Bank Open title run, and what's next:

Victoria Mboko speaks on National Bank Open victory in Montreal

The Canadian tennis star in the making reflected on her unlikely NBO tournament run in Montreal.

But it wasn't until the morning after when she realized the magnitude of her accomplishment. Suddenly, she was more recognizable on the street and life was about to become hectic.

However, she was able to relax during a five-plus hour drive home to Burlington with her parents. She wore headphones, scrolled her phone, watched TikTok, listened to music and slept.

"I'd be scrolling and see a video of me playing. I was like, 'Oh, my God, scroll, scroll," Mboko said, laughing. "I'm not a fan of seeing myself [competing]."

But many Canadians were captivated for a few days by Mboko's athletic talent.

• She downed top-seeded Coco Gauff (the 2025 French Open and 2023 U.S. Open champion) and No. 23 Sofia Kenin (the 2020 Australian Open champ), both in straight sets.
• In the semifinal, Mboko suffered a wrist injury and lost the first set 6-1 before battling back to take the next two 7-5, 7-6 (4) against ninth-seeded Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion.
• The Canadian teen rallied from another rough opening set in Thursday's final for a 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 win over Osaka, who hasn't won a tournament since the 2021 Australian Open.

Mboko, meanwhile, is the youngest woman to knock off four Grand Slam winners in the same tournament since a 17-year-old Serena Williams did so at the 1999 U.S. Open to capture the first of her Open-era record 23 major titles. She boasts a 53-9 win-loss record in all competitions this year.

"It proves that anything is possible," said Mboko, who hopes to represent Canada at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. "It seems intimidating when you're playing the top 10 [women] in the world and such amazing athletes and players [but] they're human.

"I just had that mindset going into [the] matches, playing the best I possibly can with as much focus as [possible] … and it worked."

WATCH | Mboko reflects on improbable run to NBO victory: 

Canada's Victoria Mboko wins the National Bank Open

Victoria Mboko capped an unreal run in Montreal to capture the National Bank Open title.

A promising junior player hampered by a knee injury the previous two years, Mboko went undefeated through her first 22 matches of this season. After winning five of six tournaments on the lower-level ITF Tour and reaching the final of a WTA 125 event in Italy, Mboko had an impressive Grand Slam debut, advancing to the third round of the French Open as a qualifier.

She moved inside the top 100 for the first time and rose another 15 spots with a second-round appearance at Wimbledon.

Up next for Mboko is the U.S. Open in New York later this month, where she will realize her childhood dream. The Canadian will be among 32 seeded players — giving her a more favourable path at the season's final Grand Slam — after securing an automatic entry with her NBO title. Mboko opted to sit out this week's Cincinnati Open to rest her sore wrist.

WATCH | Mboko defeats Osaka to win National Bank Open:

Canada's Victoria Mboko completes epic comeback to reach National Bank Open final

The budding Canadian tennis star fought off multiple match points to come back and beat No. 9 seed Elena Rybakina in a third-set tiebreaker.

"I hope to go there with a positive mindset. I want to have as much fun as possible," she said.

Mboko's success in Montreal has inspired other young Canadian tennis players. Denise Fernandez, coach of Saskatchewan's team at the Canada Games this week in St. John's, said Mboko's title win sets a positive example.

The fact that [Mboko's] only 18, our juniors can relate because she's not that much older than they are," Fernandez said of Mboko, who won the 2022 and 2023 Saskatoon Challenger tournaments.

The tennis community in Thunder Bay, Ont., is growing in part to the on-court achievements of Canadian professional players like Mboko.

"The kids see it on TV, adults see it on TV," said Jamie Grieve, director at the Thunder Bay Community Tennis Centre. "That's why our memberships are on [an] all-time high [of about 500] this year."

Added Valerie Tetreault, National Bank Open tournament director: "Everybody is inspired by [Mboko] who keeps surprising us by her composure, her maturity, her level of play as well, and the self-belief that she has. She's showing us that anything is possible."