At the same time as Madison Keys whizzed an off-forehand past Aryna Sabalenka to clinch last year's Australian Open, an unknown Canadian teenager was busy collecting silverware of her own.
While all eyes of the tennis world were firmly affixed on first-time Grand Slam champion Keys, Mboko was making her way through the islands of the Caribbean, clinching back-to-back WTT titles in Martinique and Guadeloupe, French-owned territories either side of Dominica.
No linespeople, no ballkids, no audience, no fuss.
The contrast to Keys' moment in front of 15,000 fans at Rod Laver Arena, plus millions more around in front of their television sets, couldn't have been more stark.
"It's just you and your opponent," Mboko said. "Nothing similar to what it is here.
"I had fun there and a lot of my friends came.
"I think it's the little tournaments like that where you gain more confidence, starting pretty humble and low.
"Honestly, I think it was really good for my development. Going through that really developed me to the player I am today."
Those two low-key tournament victories launched a 22-match winning streak - in which Mboko didn't drop a single set - putting her name in bold font for the first time.
Qualification for Roland Garros – where Mboko made the third round – soon followed. Then came Wimbledon.
Next came a landmark success on home soil, Mboko taking out the prestigious WTA 1000-level tournament in Montreal, Canada, catapulting her ranking from 85th to 23rd in 12 whirlwind days.
"Honestly, looking back at it, it's pretty cool to see how far I've come," Mboko, now ranked No. 17 in the world after being well outside the top 300 just 12 months ago," said Mboko, who has soaked up both the fan support and some off-court outtings in Adelaide this week.
"It was a long year. I never expected to see myself be here at all.
"I can be proud of how much I played last year. It paid off over the year."
Her parents, Cyprien Mboko and Godee Kitadi, hail from the Democratic Republic of Congo and emigrated to North Carolina, where Victoria was born, before the family moved to Toronto when the future tennis star was two months old.
"I've never been there (to Congo)," Mboko said. "My mum occasionally cooks Congolese meals and my parents speak the language at home.
"I understand it, but I'm not great at speaking it."
Mboko ousted reigning champion Keys in three sets in an intergenerational quarterfinal clash at the Adelaide International on Centre Court at The Drive.
Next, Mboko takes on Queensland wildcard Kimberly Birrell on Friday for a spot in the final.
Once her commitments at the event have concluded, Mboko will make her way to Melbourne for the very first time.
She will be seeded 17th at the Australian Open, drawn to potentially face world No.1 Sabalenka in the fourth round.
After her breakout 2025 campaign, the next goal is to make deep runs into majors in 2026.
But Mboko isn't placing undue pressure on herself.
"It would be nice," she said. "But this will be my first time playing the Australian Open.
"Do I really have an expectation? No, I don't know what to expect at all. I haven't played here before.
"I just want to have fun and enjoy my first-ever Slam experience at the Aussie Open."