Washington Open Prediction: Victoria Mboko vs Anastasia Potapova
July 21, 2025 at 11:00 AM EDT
The Line: Betting Odds: Victoria Mboko -138 / Anastasia Potapova +110
18-year-old Victoria Mboko of Canada will play Russian World No. 42 Anastasia Potapova in the first round of the 2025 Washington Open. The match is scheduled for Monday, July 21. Here’s our Victoria Mboko vs Anastasia Potapova prediction. This preview will also include a Victoria Mboko vs Anastasia Potapova pick.
Victoria Mboko vs Anastasia Potapova Preview
Victoria Mboko is making her debut at the Citi Open in Washington. The 18-year-old Canadian is one of the tour’s brightest prospects and is coming off a fine first half of the season in which she won 45 out of 53 matches at all levels. Most of Mboko’s success and big performances this season have been on hard courts, where she won 28 matches (including indoors) and lost just twice. She swept five titles on the ITF circuit. She played in each of the last two Grand Slams at senior level. At the French Open, Mboko came through qualifying and upset Lulu Sun and Eva Lys en route to the third round, where she would lose to Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng.
Mboko then entered Wimbledon qualifying, where she lost in the third round, but still received a main draw berth as a lucky loser. There, she beat Top 100 player Magdalena Frech in the opening round. Since losing to Hailey Baptiste in the subsequent round at SW19, the 18-year-old has not played a competitive match, but is expected to be busy this summer, playing in Washington this week and the upcoming Canada Masters in her home nation as a wild card. Mboko is currently sitting at a career-high ranking of World No. 86.
Anastasia Potapova is the World No. 42 with a previous career-high ranking of No. 21. The 24-year-old Russian is making her third appearance in Washington. Potapova lost in the first round of this tournament in her two visits in 2023 and 2024. Potapova is coming off a 19-10 win-loss record in the first six and a half months of the season. She won 12 of 18 matches on hard courts. Potapova won the WTA 250 title in Cluj-Napoca (indoors) in early February, but her last match win on the surface was in the first round of Indian Wells when she beat Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.
Potapova has been out of action for over a month. Her last tournament was the WTA 500 in Berlin, where she withdrew before her second round of qualifying because of a muscle tear. The injury didn’t heal in time, and I missed Wimbledon.
Victoria Mboko vs Anastasia Potapova Head-To-Head
Mboko and Potapova have not played at any level. This first-round match in Washington will be their first official meeting.
Victoria Mboko vs Anastasia Potapova Prediction
I’ve got to go with the high-flying Mboko here. Potaova knows a thing or two about a big breakout as a teenager, having been in similar shoes when she broke through on the main tour. And now we are seeing more of the same from this 18-year-old Canadian who plays with so much aggression and fearlessness. And considering that Potapova is coming off a muscle tear injury, she’s unlikely to find success instantly.