Mboko beats Fernandez in all-Canadian semifinal at Hong Kong Open

CBC Sports

· Posted: Nov 01, 2025 8:02 AM EDT | Last Updated: November 1

Victoria Mboko won an all-Canadian showdown successful the semifinals of the Hong Kong Tennis Open connected Saturday, defeating Leylah Fernandez (2-6, 6-3, 6-2) to beforehand to her 2nd WTA last of the season.

Mboko, 19, rebounded aft a pugnacious archetypal acceptable by boosting her first-serve occurrence rate, helping her triumph 11 of the last 14 games of the lucifer against her 23-year-old counterpart from Laval, Que.

"I didn't truly person the champion start," Mboko said aft the match. "But I gotta springiness recognition to [Fernandez] – she was playing truly great, assertive tennis, which made it hard for maine to find my rhythm. I conscionable started saying to myself, 'she's playing truly large truthful I conscionable wanted to enactment successful determination arsenic overmuch arsenic I could with her and find a way.

"It dilatory got maine a batch much assurance successful my game, and [by the end] I was much brave and capable to spell for my shots."

The Toronto native volition look Spain's Cristina Bucsa, who bushed past Maya Joint successful consecutive sets (6-3, 6-1) connected Saturday.

Mboko has faced Bucsa conscionable 1 different clip successful her career, taking a 6-3, 6-2 triumph successful the archetypal qualifying circular connected the clay courts successful Rome earlier this year.