Victoria Mboko and Elena Rybakina battle on Wednesday for a spot in the National Bank Open final.
The pregame narrative: Mboko is the first Canadian woman to reach the National Bank Open semifinal in the Open ERA (started in 1986). She will need one more upset win to reach the final and potentially claim her first-ever WTA title.
Check out our Mboko vs. Rybakina odds and my best bet for the National Bank Open match on Wednesday, Aug. 6.
Mboko vs. Rybakina odds: National Bank Open
Mboko has been on a special run with the chance to reach a WTA 1000 final, and it goes down in front of her home fans.
But the Canadian will be challenged in her semifinal match against Rybakina. Mboko is a +175 underdog to advance.
National Bank Open best bet
Best bet: Mboko +1.5 sets (-150)
The 18-year-old is 17-2 on hardcourts this season, but one of the losses did come in straight sets to Rybakina at the Citi Open in July.
But Mboko grew as the match went on, and she almost stole the second set before losing 7-5.
Since then, Mboko has been dominant. She’s won four of her five matches at the National Bank Open in straight sets, That includes a beatdown of the No. 2-ranked Coco Gauff in the round of 16 (6-1, 6-4).
Mboko has a better career win rate on this playing surface (73.4%) than Rybakina (68.4%) and has the advantage of playing in front of her home crowd.
Full Mboko vs. Rybakina betting markets
Not that she needs any extra motivation. Her talent is more than enough to keep her in this match.
With a match against Rybakina in her recent memory, I expect Mboko to use the experience to have a better showing this time around.
The breakout Canadian is now 51-9 on the season and continues to improve leaps and bounds from event to event.
Key stat: At the National Bank Open, Mboko has converted 52% of her break point opportunities while holding 81% of her service games. That makes it very difficult to build a lead against her.
Mboko vs. Rybakina odds and best bet as of 4:12 p.m. ET on 08/05/2025.
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.