The 19-year-old Canadian, seeded No. 3, captured her second WTA title of the year after surviving a rollercoaster contest filled with net cords, overrules, and dramatic shifts in momentum. Despite losing a 3-0 lead in the second set and failing to convert her first championship point, Mboko regrouped in the decider to seal the victory with a commanding service winner on her fourth match point.
It marks another milestone in a breakout season for Mboko, who has now won all seven of her deciding sets since July — including four this week in Hong Kong and three en route to her stunning Montreal title in August. Her win also extends her overall 2025 record to 60-14 (20-10 in WTA main draws), capping a rapid rise that will see her enter the world’s Top 20 for the first time.
“Today I feel like it was such high-quality tennis from Cristina,” Mboko said afterward. “Even when she was down, she came back playing amazing shots. I had to stay composed and play my best tennis. Losing that second set was painful, but that’s tennis. The best thing you can do is regroup and move on.”
Mboko took the opening set 7-5 after several tense games, but Bucsa rallied from 0-3 down in the second, saving a championship point in a dramatic tiebreak to force a decider. The Spaniard’s resistance faded in the third, however, as Mboko’s power and precision proved decisive.
In the doubles final, China’s Jiang Xinyu and Wang Yafan captured their first title together with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Momoko Kobori and Peangtarn Plipuech. It was the sixth career WTA doubles title for Jiang and the fourth for Wang.
Mboko’s triumph in Hong Kong continues her meteoric rise from world No. 350 just a year ago to one of the sport’s brightest young stars — a symbol of grit, growth, and remarkable self-belief.