Auger-Aliassime embraces mentor role as Mboko rises ahead of Australian Open

By Canadian Press on January 16, 2026.

MELBOURNE — When Canadian tennis star Félix Auger-Aliassime looks at 19-year-old rising star Victoria Mboko, the 25-year-old feels the passage of time.

It seems just a moment ago the Auger-Aliassime went down the road Mboko is about to travel. He was precocious teen who was so good, so young that his life changed in an instant.

And he can offer some advice about keeping it all in perspective.

“Maybe if you’re a big movie star and you get to a certain status, it’s tough to go down. But I’ve had my experiences where you can be in the top 10 and then you can lose a couple of matches and the people are like, ‘Oh, he’s not like that anymore.’ They treat you differently,” Auger-Aliassime said.

“You go out there and you still have to go one-on-one with a player that wants to beat you — even more when you’ve gone up the ladder. So, tennis humbles you quickly.”

Mboko began the 2025 season ranked No. 333. By the end of it, she had won the prestigious National Bank Open at home in Canada and was in the top 20 of the WTA rankings.

The accolades came quickly: the tributes and the hype, the media requests and the courtside seats to Toronto Raptors games.

And even the ultimate status symbol for a successful tennis player: a new Rolex ambassadorship.

But Mboko says she’s the same person.

“So many things have happened in the past year and so many new experiences that of course have changed the way my life is now. I had to adapt quite quickly,” she said. “But I still have the same people around me and I feel like I haven’t really changed that much, personality-wise.”

Auger-Aliassime has used the opportunity he has to speak to the greats of the sport. And he said that when you see them behind the scenes, it’s like they’re still 18 years old. They’re still goofing around, still making the same jokes.

Only the public perception changes.

“When you go around the site and the hotels, people treat you a little bit different. You need the right people around that are able to tell you the truth and not just what you want to hear,” he said.

Mboko’s larger-than-life likeness can be seen around the grounds at the Australian Open, part of a quartet billed as the “New Faces, Taking Names.”

She is featured with 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva, who is already in the top 10 and 24-year-old Jack Draper, who also reached the top 10 before an arm injury stalled his progress.

The fourth player is Joao Fonseca, a Brazilian just five days older than Mboko and for whom the hype machine has been turned up so high, some are disappointed he isn’t already competing with world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and No. 2 Jannik Sinner for Grand Slam titles.

Mboko gets it.

“Unless you’re winning every tournament, every week you’re going to lose. So I think you kind of adapt and take that in, and use it as a learning lesson to improve the next week,” she said. “Of course the goal is to be more consistent and try to find my place on the tour this year.”

For Mboko, who had an understandable lull after winning the National Bank Open in Montreal but rallied to finish off her breakthrough year with a title in Hong Kong, the 2026 season sets up very differently.

She’s making her first trip to Australia as a professional. And everything has changed.

But one thing that’s still true is that Mboko battles nerves before every match. It’s one reason why she can sometimes get off to slow starts.

Auger-Aliassime said it’s just a process.

“I don’t think even players in their 30s sit around saying they’ve figured everything out,” he said. “You just always try to improve from where you are, but you learn. Even at 15-16, if you’re playing a junior Grand Slam final … at the time, that’s as big as it gets, and you’re having that pressure and anxiety.

“Before matches I’ve had moments where you can barely breathe, in a way. But as you go through those matches more and more, you find a way to settle down. And then you feel less stressed. Now, at 25, there’s not any match that really scares me, you know?”

The spotlight will be on both young Canadians as the Australian Open kicks off on Sunday.

Auger-Aliassime has been there, done that and wants to take those final steps toward a first Grand Slam title.

For Mboko, it’s all still very new. But this year, after what she accomplished in 2025, she’s no longer the hunter; she’s the hunted.

It’s a new phase of her career. And another learning experience.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 16, 2026.

Stephanie Myles, The Canadian Press