Canadian tennis player Leylah Fernandez advanced to the final of the WTA 500 Pan Pacific Open tournament in Tokyo, Japan, defeating Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova 7:5, 6:3. As Al Jazeera English reports, the match lasted just under two hours.
A comeback victory in the semifinal
Fernandez trailed by a break at the start of each set but recovered each time. In the first set, the Canadian quickly broke back her opponent’s serve and later won the set. In the second set, Rakhimova also took a break lead, but Fernandez again recovered and closed out the match.
Fernandez, who is ranked 23rd in the world, hit nine aces. Rakhimova is the world No. 66: she was eliminated in qualifying in Tokyo but entered the main draw as a lucky loser and reached the semifinal. Had she won, she could have played in a WTA tournament final for the first time.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Third final of the season
This is Fernandez’s third final in 2026. Last month, she won her first title of the season in Singapore, while a week earlier she played in the final of the tournament in Ningbo, China, where she lost to world No. 1 Elena Rybakina.
Fernandez reached the semifinal in Tokyo after Rybakina withdrew from their match due to a neck injury. In the deciding match, the Canadian was set to play Diana Shnaider or Mia Pohankova and contend for the seventh WTA Tour title of her career.
Read us on
Download our app
