AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 19, 2026

Victoria Mboko

Press Conference

V. MBOKO/E. Jones

6-4, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Vicki, congratulations. Talk us through what you thought you did really well.

VICTORIA MBOKO: I played Emerson Jones. She's really young, very talented girl. I thought it was just important for me to stay locked in from the beginning of the match. Glad I got it done and, kind of, got the first-match nerves out of the way. I'm ready to continue.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How did you feel physically on the court and how you recovered from the Adelaide final?

VICTORIA MBOKO: When I got the news I was playing on Monday, I was like, yeah, at least it's better than Sunday. Glad that I got one day to rest in. I got to hit on Sunday when I got here. It was nice to get used to the courts.

No, I felt pretty good on court today. I didn't feel too super tired. Mentally I just wanted to put in my head that it's a continuation of the tournament and not really think too much of having to sort of have a brand-new week, brand-new everything.

Yeah, I just wanted to think that way and just roll with it.

Q. How were the courts, in your evaluation, compared to the ones in Adelaide in terms of speed or height of bounce?

VICTORIA MBOKO: Yeah, well, I thought the courts here are a lot faster than the ones in Adelaide. That's my personal thinking of it. In Adelaide we were always playing with a roof. Trying to adapt to the sun is a bit different for me.

I'd say in the beginning of the match I was struggling a bit to find my rhythm and find my footing. It's good that I got this match in to get used to it.

Q. At what point in your development when you were much younger did you realize your backhand was that good?

VICTORIA MBOKO: My backhand?

Q. When did it start feeling really good?

VICTORIA MBOKO: Yeah, I mean, I don't really know. I remember, I feel like as a junior I used to really struggle a lot with the confidence on my forehand. I mean, as I got older I got to improve that a lot more.

I think when you feel like you have one side that's a bit weaker than the other, you tend to rely on the one side more. I guess subconsciously you're improving it in a way where you feel a lot more confident on one side.

Yeah, I don't really know when I realized my backhand was more solid. I don't know. It's a nice compliment, though (smiling).

Q. One of the unique parts of tennis is that you share a locker room with players you play against. Are there any scenarios where it's awkward, whether you're playing an opponent, before or after, when you see them in the locker room? Coco said she went into the locker room today, she thought one of her friends had won. The friend said she lost.

VICTORIA MBOKO: Yeah, I feel like, kind of, when I first started playing these kinds of tournaments, seeing players that I would play before in the locker room, I used to kind of feel a little bit more awkward.

I mean, that's just the beauty of the sport, I guess. I feel like as I play more tournaments and as I see more people regularly, making more friends, being kind of just comfortable in this environment, I feel like I feel comfortable regardless, whether I see friends or people that I've played.

It's pretty normal for me.

Q. Court 11 and around, the big, larger-than-life Vicki Mboko face on a banner.

VICTORIA MBOKO: Like?

Q. On the wall. Did you notice that?

VICTORIA MBOKO: Actually, my coach pointed it out to me. I thought that was pretty cool, at the Australian Open, having a banner of my face just there. But yeah, that was pretty cool. It's nice to see. That was nice to look at.

Q. Surprise you?

VICTORIA MBOKO: It did surprise me. I was not expecting it at all. But it's cool.

Q. You look at the faces that are on there with you, pretty good.

VICTORIA MBOKO: Yeah.

Q. Speaking of grounds, the tournament is breaking attendance records every day. What do you make of your experience moving around the grounds? Does it feel comfortable? What do you make of the atmosphere of so many people?

VICTORIA MBOKO: This is actually, like, my first time actually seeing the whole grounds because when I was here as a junior, we only got to see the NTC part, whatever side that is.

It's pretty big and it's really nice seeing so many people coming to the match. I think my stadium was pretty packed. I mean, I know I played an Aussie. Seeing Canadians in there, so many Australians rooting for their player, it was just really nice to see.

Yeah, it's really cool having this be my first experience here.