In her semifinal match against Elena Rybakina at the National Bank Open, Victoria Mboko took a nasty fall, landing awkwardly on her wrist. At the time, Mboko wound up receiving treatment on her wrist mid-match; however, it didn’t seem to impact her much against Naomi Osaka in the final on Thursday.
Following her win, Mboko spoke with members of the press, revealing that before the match, she and her team decided to get an MRI and an X-ray done because of persistent swelling. While she managed to pull off a career-defining win against Osaka, as of Thursday afternoon, Mboko revealed that she is planning to withdraw from the Cincinnati Open.
She was quoted in the Omnium Banque Nationale press conference transcription as saying:
“I’m not planning on playing Cincinnati at the moment. I just want to take care of my wrist a little bit right now, and I think it’s just very close and sudden for me to go there and play again I think in, like, two days.
“I think I’m just going to sit out on that one and prepare for the upcoming tournaments.”
Currently, Mboko, who received a first-round bye at the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati, is scheduled to face off against Diana Shnaider in the Round of 64 on Saturday. If she winds up withdrawing, Shnaider will play the winner of the Yuan Yue-Cristina Bucsa match.
Victoria Mboko Opens Up on Pre-Match Wrist Swelling
While facing off against Elena Rybakina in the semifinals, Victoria Mboko managed to pull off a stellar comeback late in the match following an awkward fall.
Despite the fact that she was able to eliminate Rybakina, whose forehand appeared to be dialed in throughout their match on Wednesday, Mboko revealed after Thursday’s win over Osaka that she woke up on the morning of the final with some notable swelling:
“When I woke up this morning. It was pretty swollen, and it was really stiff and hard to move. So we decided to go to do an MRI and an X-ray just to make sure that nothing too serious was happening, that I could have the possibility of playing.
“When I got the green light, I just had to make sure I saw the physios, and we taped it up properly before the match and a very solid tape job. Yeah, I just did as much as I could to prepare for the match.”
Looking at Victoria Mboko’s Ranking Following the National Bank Open
After receiving a wildcard entry to the National Bank Open in Montreal, Victoria Mboko catapulted herself up the WTA rankings with a sensational run.
Despite starting this season ranked No. 333 in the world, Mboko is now up to No. 24 on the WTA Live Rankings, putting her just one spot ahead of Naomi Osaka, and one spot behind Elise Metens.
Should she wind up skipping the Cincinnati Open because of her wrist, Mboko will still be seeded at the US Open, where she’ll have another chance to make waves on one of the biggest stages in the sport.
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