Naomi Osaka lost to Victoria Mboko in the WTA 1000 Montreal final, but her comeback is still moving in the right direction.

Mboko has played so much tennis this season for one reason — because she wins and wins and wins some more. She’s just doing it on ever-bigger stages. In addition to Osaka and Rybakina, she beat world No. 2 Coco Gauff and 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin on the way to the title.

Playing in her first WTA 1000 final since 2022, the Japanese made an outstanding start to the Montreal title match and took the opening set versus Canadian wildcard Victoria Mboko with a 6-2 scoreline. But then, the former world No. 1's level dropped and the 18-year-old teenage sensation went on to complete a 2-6 6-4 6-1 win.