WASHINGTON — Leylah Fernandez has secured her spot in the finals of the Citi Open!
The talented player from Laval, Quebec triumphed over third-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan with a nail-biting score of 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3) in a gripping match that lasted three hours and 12 minutes on Saturday afternoon.
Fernandez is set to clash with the victor of the upcoming semifinal showdown between Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu and Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya on Sunday.
Entering the Citi Open ranked 36th in the world, Fernandez is also gearing up for the National Bank Open presented by Rogers in Montreal next week.
This marks the 22-year-old’s first final appearance since her defeat to Australia’s Daria Kasatkina on the grassy courts of Eastbourne last June.
Fernandez is on the hunt for her first title since her victory in Hong Kong in 2023. Notably, all three of her WTA singles titles have been secured on hard courts.
She previously made headlines by reaching the U.S. Open final in 2021, where she faced Raducanu. Both players entered that championship match unseeded, and Raducanu etched her name in history as the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam event.
