By The Canadian Press

Mboko advances to third round at Australian Open, Dabrowski wins doubles opener

Jan 20, 2026 | 8:20 PM

MELBOURNE — Victoria Mboko of Toronto punched her ticket to the third round of women’s singles at the Australian Open on Wednesday in Melbourne with a 6-4, 6-3 win over American Caty McNally.

The 17th-seeded Canadian will face the 14th-seeded Clara Tauson of Denmark in the next round. Tauson edged Polina Kudermetova of Uzbekistan 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 in their second-round match that took one hour 53 minutes to play.

Mboko, who dispatched McNally in one hour 32 minutes, recorded an ace, 15 winners, 24 unforced errors and two double faults. McNally had no aces, 14 winners, 27 unforced errors and six double faults.

Mboko won six of nine service games and five of nine return games.

The Canadian beat wild card Emerson Jones of Australia 6-4, 6-1 in the opening round.

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In women’s doubles, Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa and her partner Luisa Stefani of Brazil defeated Americans Jessica Pegula and McCartney Kessler 6-4, 7-6 (3). The winners will play Elsa Jacquemot of France and Emiliana Arango of Colombia in the second round.

Dabrowski and Stefani needed one hour 46 minutes to eliminate the Americans doubles team. They had one ace and three double faults, while the Americans had no aces and no double faults.

The winners did better with their return game, winning 36 points, while the Americans took 28 points, and Dabrowski and her partner had a 55 per cent win percentage on second serve, compared to the Americans’ 33 per cent.

In another women’s double match, Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., and her partner Timea Babos of Hungary lost 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to the pairing of Cristina Bucsa of Moldova and American Nicole Melichar-Martinez in a match that took two hours four minutes to play.

Fernandez and Babos finished with two aces, seven double faults. They were only able to win two of 14 return games and 11 of 15 service games. The winners won four of 15 return games and 12 of 14 service games.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2026.

The Canadian Press