Victoria Mboko’s Queen’s Club Championship singles run ended abruptly after a painful fall in her opening match against Karolina Pliskova. The Canadian, seeded third and entering directly into the second round, began her campaign on the Andy Murray Arena on Wednesday.
Struggles against Pliskova
The world No 9 made a slow start, dropping her serve in the opening game and being broken again in the seventh as former world No 1 Pliskova secured the first set with ease. Mboko steadied herself in the second, holding serve until game eight when disaster struck. At 6-2, 3-4 [40-40], she slipped chasing a forehand and collapsed clutching her left knee.
Medical intervention and retirement
The chair umpire quickly called for medical assistance. After an on-court assessment, the 19-year-old was forced to retire in tears, leaving the court with her campaign cut short.
Pliskova’s reaction
Karolina Pliskova expressed sympathy after the match. “First of all, such a shame. I think we played quite a good game today and I think she was improving as the match was going (on). It would have been a nice match but I wish her only the best,” Pliskova said. She added: “Of course, this is not the way that we want to win. Hopefully she is going to be fine.”
Doubles campaign under threat
Mboko’s injury casts doubt over her doubles partnership with Serena Williams. The pair had impressed in their opening-round victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe, setting up a quarter-final clash against Leylah Fernandez and Laura Siegemund scheduled for Thursday.
Williams and Mboko on grass challenges
After their win on Monday, Serena Williams acknowledged the difficulty of competing on grass. “With all the elements, considering coming back on grass is probably not the easiest surface,” she said. Mboko echoed the sentiment: “Yeah, coming back on grass, too. We talked about if it was hard, it might have been a different story.”
Implications for upcoming tournaments
Beyond Queen’s, Mboko’s participation in the WTA 500 Berlin Open next week is uncertain, and Wimbledon looms just weeks away, beginning on Monday, 29 July. As one of the seeded players, she is assured of a place among the top-32 at the cutoff, but her fitness now remains the pressing concern.
The injury has left her season at a crossroads, with her partnership alongside Serena Williams and her singles ambitions both hanging in the balance.
Victoria Mboko in 2026
Currently ranked no.9 (career-high), the Canadian played her last match on the 10th of June when she had to retire when playing against world no.106 Karolina Pliskova in the 2nd round and the scoreline was 6-2 3-4 .
Until now, during this year Victoria has achieved a composed 24-11 match record. Victoria Mboko’s best result of the current season was getting to the final in Adelaide, Doha and Strasbourg.
