In a surprising turn of events, Canadian tennis star Leylah Fernandez faced an unexpected early exit at the Tennis in the Land WTA 250 tournament held in Cleveland. Despite a strong start, the 21-year-old from Laval, Quebec, was eliminated in the first round by Romania’s Ana Bogdan in a dramatic three-set battle.
Fernandez, who was seeded second in the tournament, initially appeared unstoppable as she breezed through the first set 6-1 in just 30 minutes. However, her momentum faltered as the match progressed. Bogdan rallied to claim the next two sets 7-6 and 6-2, overcoming the Canadian in a grueling two-hour and 34-minute match. Bogdan’s performance was marked by four aces and a solid 7-of-17 success rate on saving break points, while Fernandez struggled with 11 double faults and managed three aces. Despite winning seven of eight break points, she couldn’t sustain her advantage.
Fernandez’s disappointment extended beyond the singles competition. In the women’s doubles, she and her partner Yulia Putintseva faced a tough loss to Brazil’s Ingrid Martins and American Quinn Gleason. The match ended 6-4, 6-3 in favor of Martins and Gleason after 71 minutes, marking another setback for Fernandez and her team.
In other Canadian tennis news, Marina Stakusic from Mississauga, Ontario, was defeated 3-6, 6-3, 4-6 by Switzerland’s Celine Naef in the first round of U.S. Open qualifying.
Meanwhile, Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino secured a win against Ysaline Bonaventure of Belgium with a score of 6-2, 6-3, and will now face Arianne Hartono of the Netherlands in the next round.
Additionally, Canada’s Carol Zhao faced a setback at the Monterrey Open in Mexico. Zhao, a Vaughan, Ontario native, was defeated by Croatia’s Petra Martić with a score of 6-7 (7), 6-3, 2-6 in her opening-round match.
With the U.S. Open approaching, Fernandez and her fellow Canadians will look to regroup and sharpen their performances as they head into one of the most anticipated tournaments of the year.
