Former WTA Player Compares Victoria Mboko with Coco Gauff: “That’s a Different Echelon”

Victoria Mboko is yet to win a Grand Slam, while Coco Gauff already has two to her name on tour.

Former WTA Player Compares Victoria Mboko with Coco Gauff: “That’s a Different Echelon”

Coco Gauff, Victoria Mboko (Image via X/Team Canada)

In Short
  • CoCo Vandeweghe believes Coco Gauff is significantly better than Victoria Mboko despite both being top 10 players.
  • Gauff has won two Grand Slam titles and is currently ranked World No. 4, while Mboko recently broke into the top 10.
  • Mboko gained attention after defeating top players, including Gauff, but has not yet won a tour-level title since her Canadian Open victory.

Former WTA player CoCo Vandeweghe has admitted that Coco Gauff is way better than Victoria Mboko when compared. The two stars are in different stages of their careers but share almost the same story of becoming famous as teenagers and breaking into the top 10 of the WTA rankings before turning 20.

Gauff first became famous in 2019 at just 15, becoming the youngest player to qualify for the Wimbledon Championship main draw in the Open Era. She also defeated Venus Williams in the first round and reached the round of 16 of the tournament. In 2023, she won the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open in the lead-up to the US Open.

At Flushing Meadows, she claimed her maiden Grand Slam at just 18 after beating Aryna Sabalenka in the final. Currently, she has won two Slams, the second coming last year at the French Open in Paris. On the other hand, Mboko made a name for herself last year when she defeated Gauff, Elena Rybakina, and Naomi Osaka to win her first WTA 1000 title at the Canadian Open.

The Canadian teenager continued with the form this season, reaching the round of 16 at the Australian Open before falling to Sabalenka in straight sets. At the Qatar Open, she produced another staggering display, reaching the final of the WTA 1000 tournament before losing to Karolina Muchova.

The 19-year-old is not competing at the ongoing Dubai Tennis Championships, where Gauff is into the quarter-finals. During a conversation on whether Mboko will have a higher ceiling than Gauff on the Big T podcast, Former World No.9 CoCo Vandeweghe weighed in that, despite both being top 10 players, Gauff has an echelon of difference above the teenager:

I think I’ve got to go shank on that one. With Coco Gauff having two Grand Slams under her belt, that is a feat in itself. And who knows how many more she will have by the end of her career? We forget that Coco is still so young. So I’m going shank. Top 10 material, no doubt. But Grand Slams? That’s a different echelon.

At the start of the 2025 season, Mboko was outside the Top 300 in the WTA rankings, but she has peaked and broken into the top 10. However, Gauff is currently ranked World No.4 and has peaked at No.2. The American star broke into the top 20 before turning 19 or even winning her first career Grand Slam at the US Open.

Andrea Petkovic says Coco Gauff is the most underrated player in the women’s circuit

Without a doubt, Victoria Mboko has become one of the most talked-about players on tour since her victory run at the Canadian Open last year. Several pundits have dubbed her the next Serena Williams on the court, having beaten top players such as Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff.

Victoria Mboko, Coco Gauff
Victoria Mboko, Coco Gauff (Image via X/The Tennis Letter, Coco Gauff)

However, recently she has been compared to Gauff, who has not won a tour-level title since November. The 21-year-old’s last title on tour came at the Wuhan Open, where she defeated Jessica Pegula in straight sets. During the aforementioned conversation, former WTA player Andrea Petkovic revealed that Gauff is one of the most underrated players in the women’s circuit:

I will also shank that. I think Coco Gauff has one of the strongest champion’s minds I have ever seen in a player being that young, with some flaws in her game, but always competing. I don’t know if you agree, but in a weird way, I feel like she’s underrated. I played her when she was 15. Right away I thought to myself, ‘This is a generational talent.’ I lost to Coco Gauff when she was 15 years old.

Gauff is seeking to reach her first tour-level final since the Wuhan Open at the Dubai Tennis Championships. She will face the in-form Alexandra Eala for a place in the semi-finals. She has the chance to win the tournament as 24 of the seeded players in the draw have either withdrawn or retired from the event.

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