Victoria Mboko has moved quickly through the professional ranks and believes the addition of Wim Fissette to her team can accelerate her quest for a major title.

The 19-year-old Canadian debuted the partnership last week at the Internationaux de Strasbourg, reaching the final before losing in three sets to Emma Navarro. It was an immediate sign of progress after a season that included setbacks and adaptation to clay.

Mboko first played a Grand Slam in Paris last year, when she qualified and reached the third round. That breakthrough helped spark a rapid rise that has her sitting in the Top 10 12 months later.

Fissette brings a long résumé. He has coached major winners including Victoria Azarenka, Kim Clijsters, Naomi Osaka and Iga Swiatek, among others. His partnership with the last of those ended after the Miami Open in March, and Mboko hopes her name will soon join that list of decorated champions.

“I think bringing in someone who has the experience of working with such high-ranked players, and he has such a history of working with Slam champions, and he kind of knows what it takes to get there,” she said Monday ahead of her first-round Roland Garros match against Nikola Bartunkova. “So bringing in that kind of experience for me kind of gives me a different perspective of what I can do to be in those kinds of positions.”

If Strasbourg was any indication, the new combination is already producing benefits. Mboko admitted she did not expect to reach the final after an “unlucky” stretch that included wisdom teeth surgery and an illness that forced her to withdraw from the WTA 1000 in Rome, as well as a limited background on clay.

“When I first started training, I mean, I never really felt comfortable with my movement on clay,” she said. “So I think before even getting to the tennis part, I would try to work on the sliding and what not.

“I wouldn’t say I’m still that great at it, but I think it’s having the fitness to kind of compensate for how you play on court and to kind of help you in those certain aspects. I think right now I’m a lot better than how I started the training, so I think in those ways I’ve improved.”

Elena Rybakina confirmed she completed her driver’s test in the Porsche she earned by winning the Stuttgart title in 2024. The reigning Australian Open champion revealed the detail after a straight-sets victory over Diana Shnaider, a match in which she won 91% of her first-serve points to prevail 6-3, 6-4.

“Winning the tournament gave me a good push to finally do my exams and get the driver’s license, so I have it now and I’m enjoying the car,” Rybakina said on court after defeating Diana Shnaider in straight sets. “I’m enjoying the rides when I do my pre-season.”

Rybakina first confirmed she had earned her driver’s license back in 2025, joking she had become her team’s de facto chauffeur. As the top seed in Stuttgart this week, she did not drive to her first clay-court tournament of the season, but she made clear she is motivated to claim a second Porsche Tennis Grand Prix crown in three years. She will next face either Leylah Fernandez or Zeynep Sonmez.

Mirra Andreeva joined Rybakina in the quarterfinals, the No. 6 seed showing signs of renewed form on clay. Andreeva arrived in Stuttgart fresh off her second title of the year in Linz and, after dethroning defending champion Jelena Ostapenko, navigated a first-set tiebreak to defeat American Alycia Parks 7-6 (3), 6-3.

Andreeva had battled inconsistency earlier in the season after opening the year with a title in Adelaide and enduring difficult losses at the BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open. “I’m just super happy with the way I stayed composed,” Andreeva said after the match . “I felt like at some moments I was getting a little bit more tight, because for me, every point was important when you play against these kind of dangerous players.”

Andreeva has also spoken previously about learning to drive. “I’ve been practicing and it’s not like I don’t know anything about it,” she said back in Indian Wells . “I just need to have some time to get my driver’s license at some point, but I think I’m going to survive on the road.”

© 2026 Daniel Kopatsch

Mirra Andreeva produced a late rally to win the Upper Austria Ladies Linz title, recovering from a lopsided start to beat Anastasia Potapova 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 in Sunday’s final. The top seed fell behind 6-1, 1-0 to the newly-minted Austrian, who started competing for the country this year, before shifting momentum and closing out a one hour and 54-minute victory.

The 18-year-old, who previously triumphed in Adelaide in January, collected her fifth career trophy and her second of 2026. The world No. 1 joins Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula as the only players on tour so far this season to win more than one title.

After the match, Andreeva — now 3-1 against Potapova — said that Potapova, against whom she is now 3-1, “pushed [her] to [her] limit.” She then offered the same personal acknowledgement she has used after other big wins, saying: “I want to thank myself today again for fighting until the end. For trying to find solutions. For never stopping and believing until the end that maybe somehow I can turn it around. I think it paid off today as well. Last thanks goes to myself.”

Andreeva finished with 32 winners and 35 unforced errors. Potapova hit 30 winners and 42 unforced errors.

Potapova, who is Russian-born and won the Linz title in 2023, became the first player representing Austria to reach the Linz final since the tournament began in 1991.