Wimbledon 2025: Lucky loser Victoria Mboko seizes eleventh-hour call with main draw debut win

Victoria Mboko was eating pasta for lunch on a warm London afternoon when she received a phone call.

The 18-year-old tennis player from Canada had lost in the final qualifying round of Wimbledon 2025 last week, but on Tuesday (1 July) she received a lucky loser slot — randomly drawn from four losers who lost in the third round of qualifying.

“I don't know exactly the time, I think it was around maybe noon or one o'clock,” Mboko said. “I was very relaxed because I was like, ‘It’s just another day off, I'm just chilling.’ [Then] I got a text message from one of the members of the WTA.

“I felt very rushed at the moment, but because I was so excited and so happy, I wanted to switch into tournament mode. I ate really fast and then got ready and everything was so rushed until then, but I'm happy at the end of the day.”

With just three hours’ notice, the world number 97 was set for her main draw debut at the Championships against Polish seed Magdalena Fręch. To add to the surprise, Mboko went from being scheduled last on Court 4 to playing on Court 10 just an hour and a half later

The late notice did not faze Mboko, who cruised through 6-3, 6-2 straight-set win on debut, earning a spot in the second round of the women’s singles draw.

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