Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Canada’s Victoria Mboko beat Kimberly Birrell of Australia 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the Adelaide International final on January 18. World No. 17 Mboko was dominant in the final warm-up event for the Australian Open. The 19-year-old, who was named the newcomer of the year by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) in 2025, won nine consecutive games to take control of the semi final match.
A forehand down the line on her second match point was Mboko’s 24th winner compared to just seven for Birrell. “It feels nice because all my other matches have gone pretty long, but I was glad I could be more aggressive today,” Mboko said on court after the match, as reported by Xinhua.
Mboko will play either world No. 8 Mirra Andreeva or 23rd-ranked Diana Shnaider in the final before the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of 2026, begins on Sunday. Mboko would claim a third title in under six months with a victory on Saturday after she won her first career singles title at the Canadian Open in August and her second at November’s Hong Kong Tennis Open. Earlier, Mboko, 19, defeated ninth-ranked Keys 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in one hour and 53 minutes for her second career victory against a top-10 opponent.
