Canada’s Victoria Mboko earns shot at Coco Gauff after winning at Italian Open

Canada’s Victoria Mboko will have a chance to play one of the biggest names in women’s tennis after notching another win on Wednesday.

The 18-year-old Mboko continued her impressive season by beating Italy’s Arianna Zucchini 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of the Italian Open on Wednesday in Rome.

Mboko, who won a pair of qualifying matches to earn a spot in the main draw, will next face No. 4 seed Coco Gauff. The American reached the semifinals of the Australian Open this year and captured her first career Grand Slam title in 2023 at Wimbledon.

Wednesday marked Mboko’s second win at the WTA Tour 1000 level. She advanced to the second round of the Miami Open earlier this year after receiving a wild card.

Zucchini is ranked 620th in the world. She received a wild-card to the event.

Mboko, the world No. 156, has a 33-3 record this season, largely playing on the lower-tier ITF World Tour, where she has won five titles. She also won a pair of singles matches for Canada in Billie Jean King Cup ties.

Canadian Bianca Andreescu was scheduled to face Italy’s Federica Urgesi in a first-round match later Wednesday.