The Adelaide International 2026 WTA 500 finals will be one highlight event to watch for as two of the emerging young female tennis talents fight for the title. On Friday, January 16, Russia’s Mirra Andreeva and Victoria Mboko of Canada advanced to the finals after winning their respective match categories.
In the semi-finals World No. 8 Andreeva defeated Diana Shnaider by sets of 6-3, 6-2, while Mboko defeated Australia’s Kimberly Birrell in a comfortable win by sets of 6-2, 6-1. Earlier in the quarterfinals, Canada’s Mboko defeated Madison Keys of the U.S. by sets of 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, while Andreeva defeated Australia’s Maya Joint by 6-2, 6-0.
The Canadian tennis star has had a breakthrough 2025 season after being named the WTA’s Newcomer of the Year. She is now the fourth Canadian tennis player to win the award after Carling Bassett (1983), Eugenie Bouchard (2013), and Bianca Andreescu (2019). However, it was her journey from the top 300 to making her mark into the top 20. Last year, Mboko won the WTA 1000-level event after defeating Birrell in the first set by 2-1. Followed by that, she went on to win nine straight games and won the WTA 1000 National Bank Open title in Montreal.
That season, she had defeated four Grand Slam singles champions, including Naomi Osaka. In November, she won the WTA title in Hong Kong, bagged four consecutive ITF World Tennis Tour titles, and advanced in the French Open third round. Her achievement and impressive performance in 2025 had named her among the International Tennis Federation’s five future stars in December.
Andreeva praises Mboko
During an on-court interview, Andreeva heaped praise on Mboko and believes their battle will be a good one when they meet at the Adelaide International 2026 WTA 500 finals. “Vicky, she’s a great player. She had an amazing season last year, and I’ve known her since I was 12 years old,” she said. “I think I’ve been playing not bad as well, so I think it’s going to be a great match tomorrow,” she added.
Meanwhile, Mboko says that she and her semi-finals opponent Birrell has had quite a number of matches against each other, with each battling it out in a hard-fought campaign to reach the finishing line.
Mboko said, “We had a lot of good exchange of rallies. I feel like I was able to kind of stay in with her in terms of pace. We had a lot of rallies where we were running a lot and trying to stay neck and neck at the baseline. I think having those kinds of rallies and points can help me in other matches when it comes to those points. I think it just gives me confidence overall.”
