The rise of Victoria Mboko has been put on pause. And perhaps the same can be said in regards to Serena Williams’ return to tennis. The 19-year-old Canadian revealed that she suffered an MCL injury at the HSBC Championships and will miss the remainder of the grass season.
Mboko slipped during her second-round match against former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova on Wednesday and was ultimately forced to retire (2-6, 4-3). The previous day, she had the privilege of teaming up with one of the biggest stars in tennis history. The No. 9-ranked player was a huge part of Williams’ first professional match since 2022, as the duo earned a straight-sets victory over Erin Routliffe and Nicole Melichar-Martinez.
Unfortunately, their doubles journey has come to an end for the time being. Williams’ future plans now appear to be mired in uncertainty, while Mboko processes this disappointing news and begins a potentially arduous recovery. The ascending teenager expressed her utmost appreciation for the 23-time major champion in a social media post.
“Lastly, thank you {Serena Williams} for giving me this incredible opportunity to play alongside you,” she said, via Tennis Channel. “I learnt so much from you and am so sorry our tournament came to an end prematurely, but I hope we can play together again soon and finish what we started.”
Victoria Mboko would have been one of the most interesting players to track at Wimbledon following a notable start to the 2026 season. She claimed two hard-court victories over would-be French Open champion Mirra Andreeva and also defeated 2026 Australian Open champ Elena Rybakina, 2025 Aussie Open winner Madison Keys and two-time Grand Slam runner-up Amanda Anisimova.
Mboko reached the fourth round of a major for the first time in her career, before falling to Aryna Sabalenka in Melbourne back in January. She then lost a hard-fought three-set battle to Keys in the third round of the French Open. Hopefully, this young talent will soon get the chance to reclaim her spot in the top-10 and further showcase her ample promise.
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