Published: January 15, 2026 at 6:52 pm
Victoria Mboko continues to put in the hard yards at the Adelaide International. The 19-year-old Canadian ended Madison Keys’ title defense on Thursday with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 upset victory, her third three-setter in as many matches played this week at the WTA 500 event, according to a WTA Tour report.
From a set and a break ahead, things got complicated for Mboko against Keys, who also took home a trophy from Adelaide in 2022. But the reigning Australian Open champion lost steam in the final set and Mboko eventually secured the second Top 10 victory of her young career in 1 hour and 53 minutes.
The Canadian won five straight games after Keys held serve to open the final set on her way to victory. She benefitted from an up-and-down performance by the defending champion, who racked up 41 unforced errors in total and — despite serving nine aces — faced 12 break points and dropped serve six times.
“I know she won this tournament last year, and of course, Australian Open, and I knew coming into this match that it would be a big fight,” Mboko said afterwards.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DThUGmnE_Gt/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
“I think there was one moment in the second set where she hit three return winners off my serve, so that was pretty humbling. She is where she is for a reason, and I think to play these kinds of players, you have to get used to receiving those kinds of balls. It was great tennis from her, and I’m glad I got it done.”
The eighth seed will now slide into favored position in the semifinals as she seeks her third career final on the WTA Tour, all of which have come since her breakout WTA 1000 title run on home soil in Montreal last August. In the first round at that tournament, she beat Australia’s Kimberly Birrell — and the pair will play again this time with the unseeded Birrell now benefitting from home-crowd advantage.
The 27-year-old Gold Coast resident advanced to her first career WTA 500-level semifinal with her own three-set triumph — a 5-7 6-1, 7-5 epic against Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian that lasted 3 hours and 4 minutes.
The World No. 107, who has reached two WTA 250 titles in her career to date, regrouped after losing a 5-2 lead in the first set to break new ground at this level, and won the last three games of the match as well.
“I just kept telling myself to keep trying and fighting for every point,” a breathless Birrell said afterwards. “When I came back out for the second set, I just told myself that I’ll get those opportunities again if I kept fighting.”
Mirra Andreeva needed just 67 minutes to dismiss Maya Joint 6-2, 6-0. Pic: The Guardian
The top-half semifinal will pit former doubles partners Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider against each other. The pair, who were silver medallists at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, both advanced in straight sets: No. 9 seed Shnaider defeated No. 6 seed Emma Navarro 6-3, 6-3, and No. 3 seed Andreeva needed just 67 minutes to dismiss Maya Joint 6-2, 6-0.
Having lost six out of eight matches against opponents on home soil between August 2024 and the end of 2025, Andreeva has already notched two victories over Australian players in Australia in 2026. Following her three-set win over Olivia Gadecki in Brisbane last week, the 18-year-old was dominant against 19-year-old Joint in their first professional meeting. (Andreeva won their only junior encounter on clay in 2022.)
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DThFH3sEwko/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
Joint’s bold play in saving four break points to hold in the opening game seemed to presage a tight contest — but instead, Andreeva simply ramped up the pressure. Constructing points with corner-to-corner precision, her accuracy stood in contrast to Joint’s tally of 24 unforced errors, particularly from the backhand win.
Andreeva defeated Shnaider 6-2, 6-3 in their only previous meeting in the 2023 Brisbane first round.
