The 18-year-old fed off the energy of the crowd, crediting ecstatic supporters with carrying her through after a tumble left her with a sore right wrist in the third set of her first semi-final on the Tour.
Mboko, who ousted top-seeded French Open champion Coco Gauff in the fourth round, didn’t let it stop her.
After going down an early break in the third set she refused to go quietly, loading up on her forehand fending off a match point as she broke Rybakina in the 10th game to level the set.
A couple of untimely double faults helped ninth-seeded Rybakina break back for a 6-5 lead, but the ninth seed from Kazakhstan was broken at love in the next game, setting the stage for a gritty tiebreaker.
“Anything can happen,” an exhausted Mboko beamed as the crowd’s cheers rained down on her. “Unfortunately I fell, but I had everyone supporting me and pushing me.”
Mboko, playing in just her third 1000-level event, will play four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka of Japan, who defeated Denmark’s Clara Tauson 6-2, 7-6.
Osaka, still seeking to find consistency since returning from maternity leave in 2024, arrived in Montreal ranked 49th in the world.
Tauson, for her part, reached the semi-final with wins over Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek and Australian Open winner Madison Keys. (AFP)