Victoria Mboko Dominates Caty McNally at the 2026 Australian Open

Victoria Mboko is through to the women’s singles third round at the 2026 Australian Open, with tennis’ latest rising star winning in straight sets on Wednesday (21 January). Back at the 1573 Arena to face Caty McNally, the teenager showed calm and composure to progress in her tournament debut 6-4, 6-3. There was very little to separate the two in the opening set, alternating game wins across the first eight on offer, before Mboko began to find an edge. The 19-year-old capitalised on a run of unforced errors from McNally to clinch the set 6-4, breaking serve on a gruelling 24-shot rally. McNally took control in set two, dominating rallies and taking advantage of Mboko’s struggles on the serve to earn a 3-0 advantage. It would take just one break of serve for the pendulum to swing back in favour of the Canadian, who evened the set at 3-3 and soaked up the pressure to push into the lead. Shaking off her earlier struggles when starting the point, Mboko showcased her mental resilience by holding serve to close out the match, earning her second consecutive straight-sets singles victory in Melbourne. The teenage star will face one of Polina Kudermetova or Clara Tauson in the third round.