Canada’s Victoria Mboko’s U.S. Open debut ended early with a 6-3, 6-2 loss to Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic in a women’s first-round singles match Monday in New York City.
Mboko was playing her first match since claiming the National Bank Open title in Montreal earlier this month.
The rising star from Toronto, who turns 19 on Tuesday, arrived at Flushing Meadows the women’s 22nd seed.
The Canadian drew a formidable first-round opponent as Krejcikova is a two-time Grand Slam champion and won the Wimbledon women’s title last year.
The Czech, a former world No. 2, opened with a break and cruised to victory in one hour 23 minutes.
WATCH | Mboko suffers straight-sets loss to Krejcikova in New York City:
Canada’s Victoria Mboko falls in her U.S. Open debut
Mboko appeared to feel discomfort in her wrapped right wrist as she continuously shook it. She sustained a wrist injury when she fell during the semifinals of the National Bank Open.
The match paused for a few minutes in the first game of the second set while Krejcikova, Mboko and officials searched for Krejcikova’s vibration dampener for her racket around the Czech’s chair.
Later Monday, Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo played a men’s first-round match against Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Petra Kvitova’s professional tennis career ended on Monday at the U.S. Open, where the two-time Wimbledon champion was eliminated in the first round by Diane Parry 6-1, 6-0 in 52 minutes.
“I hoped I would put on a better show today,” said Kvitova, a 35-year-old left-hander from the Czech Republic who had announced this appearance at Flushing Meadows would be her last tournament.
After it ended when she sent a backhand return wide, Kvitova began crying. She went over to the stands for a hug and a kiss from her husband, Jiri Vanek, who is also her coach. They became parents in July 2024, when their son, Petr, was born, and Kvitova returned to the tour this season after a 17-month break.
She announced earlier this year she would be retiring after the U.S. Open.
Kvitova won Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon in 2011, defeating Maria Sharapova in the final, and 2014, with a victory over Eugenie Bouchard, and was ranked as high as No. 2.
In December 2016, she was stabbed at her home by a knife-wielding intruder. Kvitova needed hours of surgery to repair nerves and tendons in her racket-holding left hand.
Kvitova returned to competition less than six months later at the French Open, where she won her first match back.
