WTA Montreal: The 18-year-old local sensation Mbogu causes an upset against Rybakina and will face Osaka Naomi

The WTA 1000 Montreal has determined the lineup for the women's singles final. In the first women's singles semifinal, 18-year-old local dark horse Mbogu pulled off another upset, saving match points in the decisive set, and after 2 hours and 46 minutes, she triumphed over former Wimbledon champion and 9th seed Rybakina with a comeback score of 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(4), reaching her first career tour final at a WTA 1000 event on home soil.

Mbogu

As Mbogu continues her dream journey to the final, she has set multiple records at this event: the first Canadian woman in the Open Era to defeat three Grand Slam champions (Kenin, Gauff, Rybakina) in a single tournament; the fourth local woman to reach the final in this event during the Open Era, and the youngest among them; the third woman to enter the final of this event as a wildcard in the Open Era (after Seles in 1995 and Halep in 2015). Mbogu was ranked outside the top 300 at the beginning of the season, and regardless of whether she wins the title here, the young Canadian will enter the top 40 next week.

Osaka Naomi

Mbogu's opponent in the final will be former world number one and four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka Naomi, who saved two set points in the second set tiebreak to eventually defeat 16th seed Townsend with a score of 6-2, 7-6(7), making her way back to the WTA 1000 final after more than three years (the 2022 Miami Open), marking her fifth appearance in a final at this level in her career.

The women's doubles final also took place on the same day, where the third seeds Zhang Shuai/Townsend fell short against the American duo Gauff/Kessler with a score of 4-6, 6-1, 11-13, finishing as runners-up. This marks Gauff's fourth WTA 1000 women's doubles title and Kessler's first career tour doubles championship.

(Text and editing by Wang Fei, Images by Visual China)