Victoria Mboko presented key to the city of Burlington, Ontario for "inspiring" rise

Fresh off a nomination for the WTA's Newcomer of the Year award, Victoria Mboko has snagged an honor much closer to home. The 19-year-old was presented the key to her hometown city of Burlington, Ontario on Friday for what local officials called in "inspiring" rise on the WTA tour.

Mboko, born in Charlotte, North Carolina, has resided in Canada since the age of 2 months, and now makes the nearly 200,000-person city located at the southwestern end of Lake Ontario her home. Since 2019, Burlington has presented notable residents with a key to the city to celebrate their achievements, and Mboko received hers at a newly-opened community center.

Secretary of State for Sport Adam van Koeverden said that Mboko's August run through the Omnium Banque Nationale in Montreal "stole the hearts of Canadians." In her second WTA 1000 main draw, Mboko stormed to a historic title, defeating among others Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina, and Naomi Osaka.

“We’ve always had great tennis players in Canada, but ... whether we had watched tennis before or not, everyone was a tennis fan for those weeks," he said.

Read more: Victoria Mboko: 'Legacy in motion' captured in Rolling Stone Africa cover story

Local politician Angelo Bentivegna added that Mboko's rise "has been nothing short of inspiring."

"You’ve shown determination, humility and strength beyond your years," he said. "While the world sees a champion, we see someone who reflects the heart and spirit of Burlington.”

Mboko equally celebrated the local community in her remarks, and posed for photos with students from the nearby Ascension Catholic School. Despite still being a teenager, she said that she already has a goal of increasing tennis' profile in the city.

“The community here is so welcoming and friendly,” she said. “We have almost everything we need around here and I have been and continue to be so blessed to live here and have the opportunities my family created for me. It’s something I don’t take lightly and I’ve set out as a goal in the future for myself to help provide and create opportunities for others. To that extent, if I were to ever have one wish, it’d be to have more tennis courts here in Burlington.”

Mboko rose more than 300 spots in the WTA rankings this year.

In addition to her Cinderella run in Montreal, she made the third round at Roland Garros and added a second title in Hong Kong to close out the season.