Analytics & Stats WTA
Victoria Mboko’s breakthrough: from No 333 to a WTA 1000 champion and bigger ambitions
Victoria Mboko rose from No 333 to a WTA 1000 crown and a career-high No 23, with Grand Slam aims.
Victoria Mboko’s rise over the past season reads like a rapid, carefully built ascent. She began the year at No 333 in the WTA Rankings, captured five ITF titles between January and March to vault into the top 200, and then reached the third round on her Grand Slam debut at Roland Garros, a run that pushed her inside the top 100.
Her home event, the Canadian Open, produced the signature breakthrough. Entering as a wildcard, Mboko upset Sofia Kenin in the second round and then defeated top seed and reigning French Open champion Coco Gauff in straight sets in the fourth round. She followed with wins over Jessica Bouzas Maneiro and Elena Rybakina in the semi-final before beating Naomi Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the final to claim the WTA 1000 title.
At 18, Mboko became one of the few wildcards to win a WTA 1000 event, joining the company of Monica Seles, Steffi Graf, Maria Sharapova and Bianca Andreescu. The title propelled her into the top 30 and she now sits at a career-high No 23. The victory also raised her public profile; she is now featured on the cover of Rolling Stone Africa magazine.
On her place among former champions she said, “It feels amazing to be mentioned alongside players like Monica Seles, Steffi Graf, Sharapova, and Bianca,” she said in the interview with RSA.
“Being associated with them is really special, and it shows the kind of incredible careers they’ve had. That gives me a lot of hope and motivation for my own journey, because I also want to build a great career and be the best I can be. For me, this moment is a really important stepping stone.”
Looking ahead, Mboko is clear about her targets. “There are so many milestones I hope to achieve. Winning a Grand Slam or becoming world number one would always be a huge blessing, but I know there’s a process to reaching those goals, and sometimes you never know how early opportunities might come,” Mboko said.
“Every day, I focus on improving, both on and off the court. Ultimately, I think it’s important to dream big, and hopefully one day winning a Grand Slam will be part of that journey.”
She has also spoken about legacy and inspiration. “I’ve never felt that any dream of mine was out of reach because I truly believe anything is possible. From the very beginning, seeing champions hold up trophies, imagining being number one, or looking up to my idols inspired me.
“I’ve always believed that the sky’s the limit. Dreaming big is so important, it’s about manifesting your goals and working toward them. As you start to see progress and things moving in your favour, you realise that your dreams are much closer than you imagined. I’ve always wanted to keep believing in myself and pushing forward.”
Mboko, whose parents immigrated to Canada from the Democratic Republic of Congo before she was born, added: “It’s hard to imagine looking back at my career since it’s only just beginning, but I hope to make a meaningful impact on the sport.
“It would be incredibly heartwarming to feel that my story, or where I come from, could help change the sport in some way. I want to inspire the next generation of tennis players, whether in Canada or even in Africa, and be a role model for young girls or kids who might not believe they have a chance. If I can have that kind of impact on others, that’s the legacy I would love to leave.”
Analytics & Stats Player News WTA
Anisimova Enters WTA Top 3 and Becomes the New American No. 1
Amanda Anisimova rises to No. 3 in the WTA rankings and becomes the top American player. ©Prange2025
Amanda Anisimova rises to a career-high No. 3 in the latest WTA rankings, marking her first appearance inside the Top 3 and establishing her as the top-ranked American player. She moves up from No. 4 while Coco Gauff drops from No. 3 to No. 4, a swap driven by this week’s points adjustments.
There were no tournaments last week, but points from Week 1 of 2025 have dropped off the rankings. Anisimova remains on 6,287 ranking points. Gauff’s total falls from 6,763 to 6,273 after last year’s United Cup results are removed. The net effect places Anisimova ahead of Gauff and makes her the highest-ranked American on either the ATP or WTA lists; Gauff is now the second-highest-ranked American.
Anisimova’s climb carries additional historical notes. She becomes just the third player born in the 2000s to reach the Top 3 in WTA history, and the fifth player born in that decade to achieve a Top 3 ranking across either the WTA or ATP. She is also the 15th American woman to reach the Top 3 since WTA rankings began in 1975. For context, 11 American men have reached the Top 3 since ATP rankings were introduced in 1973.
Other notable ranking changes this week include Linda Noskova moving from No. 13 to a personal best of No. 12. Clara Tauson slips from No. 12 to No. 14; Noskova lost her second match in Brisbane a year ago while Tauson won the Auckland title at the same time last season. Cristina Bucsa makes her Top 50 debut, rising from No. 51 to No. 50. Anastasia Potapova drops from No. 50 to No. 55; Bucsa lost in the first round in Brisbane last year while Potapova reached the third round.
© 2025 Robert Prange
Analytics & Stats Player News WTA
Hsieh Su-wei at 40: Four decades distilled into 40 defining numbers
Hsieh Su-wei turns 40: 40 milestones from No. 1 doubles weeks to Grand Slam and tour titles. Today!
Hsieh Su-wei celebrates her 40th birthday with a resume few peers can match. A concise selection of career milestones captures the arc of a player who has excelled in doubles, enjoyed late-career singles highlights and returned to the tour with sustained success.
She first reached No. 1 in doubles on May 12, 2014, becoming the first Taiwanese player to reach the top spot in tennis in either women’s or men’s, singles or doubles. She claimed two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2024 alongside Jan Zielinski; those were their first and third tournaments together. Her three WTA singles titles came in 2012 (Kuala Lumpur and Guangzhou) and 2018 (Hiroshima).
Hsieh has won Grand Slam women’s doubles titles with four different partners: two with Peng Shuai, and one each with Barbora Strycova, Elise Mertens and Wang Xinyu. She has five Wimbledon titles, including four in women’s doubles (2013 with Peng, 2019 with Strycova, 2021 with Mertens and 2023 with Strycova) and one mixed in 2024 with Zielinski.
Her WTA Finals record features six appearances and a title in 2013 with Peng; she reached the semifinals in 2025 with Jelena Ostapenko. Across Grand Slams she owns seven women’s doubles majors, plus two mixed doubles majors. Indian Wells stands out among her 13 WTA 1000 doubles titles, winning it four times in 2014 (with Peng), 2018 (with Strycova), 2021 and 2014 (with Mertens).
Other highlights: she has 36 doubles wins in 2025 (36-18), 37 career tour-level doubles titles (35 women’s, two mixed), and 40 career tour-level titles overall (three singles, 35 women’s doubles and two mixed). She spent 59 weeks at No. 1 in doubles and is one of only 18 women to log 50 or more weeks at the top. Her Top 10 and Top 15 singles victories mostly arrived in her 30s, including her first Top 10 singles win at Roland Garros in 2017 and a landmark win over reigning No. 1 Simona Halep at Wimbledon in 2018.
Early markers include a perfect 30-0 start below tour level at 15 in 2001 and her first Grand Slam doubles title at Wimbledon in 2013. She retired from singles in 2024 after Miami. Hsieh is the top seed in doubles in Brisbane this week alongside Jelena Ostapenko.
Analytics & Stats ATP Player News
Alcaraz Tops 2025 ATP Earnings List and Clears $60 Million in Career Prize Money
Alcaraz tops 2025 ATP prize money with over $21 million and passes $60 million career total. Update
The ATP’s final prize money standings for 2025 confirm a season dominated by Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Alcaraz led the tour with more than $21 million in prize money for the year, while Sinner followed with north of $19 million. World No. 3 Alexander Zverev ranked third on the list with $7.5 million.
Alcaraz’s 2025 total is the second-highest single-season haul in ATP history, behind only Novak Djokovic’s 2015 figure. Sinner’s earnings for 2025 also produced a milestone: he became the first player to exceed $19 million in a season and the first to top $16 million in two different seasons.
Beyond the single-season figures, Alcaraz’s 2025 earnings pushed his career prize money past $60 million. That achievement marks him as the first player, male or female, born since 2000 to reach that level. The draft also notes that he is the first player born since 1988 to pass the $60 million mark.
The final prize money leaderboard underlines the financial gap at the very top of men’s tennis in 2025, with the two leading players combining for the bulk of top-year payouts. The published top-10 list for 2025 places Alcaraz and Sinner well clear of the next tier, with Zverev as the highest earner after them.
These numbers frame a season in which prize money concentrated at the top for a small group of players. Alcaraz’s performance in 2025 not only reinforced his place as the year’s top earner but also cemented a rapid climb in career earnings, while Sinner’s consistency produced an unprecedented dual-season benchmark in annual pay.
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