DOHA, Qatar—Athletes often dream of competing against their idols, and Victoria Mboko is no different.
The 19-year-old was fresh off a winning debut at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open when she was asked if there was an opponent she still longed to face as she continued her meteoric rise up the rankings.
🖥️📲 Match in 15 Minutes: Victoria Mboko def. Marie Bouzkova, Doha 1R
Already up to No. 13 thanks to title runs in Montréal and Hong Kong, Mboko, who took on world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open last month, gave an unsurprising answer, but one that may yet come true:
Q. It’s your first year on the tour, second year on the tour, on the main tour. Is there any player that you’re particularly keen to play against, ones that you watched growing up that you want to match up against on the tour right now?
VICTORIA MBOKO: Well, one person that I always looked up to was Serena Williams, but she’s retired now. I feel like I kind of already played people who I was wanting to play growing up. I mean, playing world No. 1 has always been a dream of mine, whether you win or lose it.
But, yeah, I think just playing as many top-10 players as I can is pretty cool. That’s always a different experience for me. Yeah, there’s not someone in particular.