World No. 9 Victoria Mboko secured a spot in her first career WTA clay-court semifinal on Thursday.
The top seed defeated fellow Canadian Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-4 in a highly anticipated quarterfinal matchup at the 2026 Strasbourg Open.
Mboko took control from the opening baseline rallies, dictating the pace to claim five consecutive games. Her powerful backhand produced 13 winners in the opening set alone.
Fernandez responded with resilience, saving six set points to narrow the gap to 5-4. But Mboko remained composed, serving out the set on her seventh opportunity.
Jorge Fernandez Incident Overshadows Strasbourg Quarterfinal
Following the opening set loss, a courtside hot mic captured Fernandez's father and coach, Jorge Fernandez, delivering a critical lecture.
He aggressively questioned his daughter’s commitment and compared her recent form to Mboko's steady rise, sparking backlash from tennis fans.
here’s the video of the full exchange. she stood there listening to him say stuff like:
— 🎾nebby🎾 (@1gamesetmatch) May 22, 2026
“you’re afraid and you don’t want to admit it…how long until you wake up? out out out, in the net, out…you don’t want to listen…do you want to play tennis or not?” https://t.co/Slu6E1x169 pic.twitter.com/3DO0ge495p
The second set began similarly. Mboko immediately broke the seventh seed to secure a 2-0 advantage.
Fernandez struggled with her serve throughout the afternoon, committing eight costly double faults and two consecutive double faults that gave Mboko an early break. Fernandez fought back, recovering one break. However, she couldn't completely close the deficit.
Mboko won 82.1% of her first-serve points to shut down any comeback attempts. She sealed the match in just over 90 minutes with a decisive backhand winner down the line.
Mboko now holds a 2-0 head-to-head record against Fernandez. She goes to face world No. 33 Jaqueline Cristian in Friday's semifinal.
