Canada’s Leylah Fernandez and her partner Laura Siegemund from Germany have made a stunning entrance into the women’s doubles final at the HSBC Championships, courtesy of yet another walkover at The Queen’s Club in West London on Saturday.
The duo was set to challenge Americans Iva Jovic and McCartney Kessler; however, Jovic pulled out after her singles semifinals match, where she faced a 6-2, 6-2 defeat against Britain’s Emma Raducanu earlier in the day.
Fernandez and Siegemund are now lined up to battle Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Britain’s Olivia Nicholls in the final scheduled for Sunday.
The pair previously advanced to the semifinals with a walkover after Canadian sensation Victoria Mboko withdrew from the WTA 500 event, putting an unexpected halt to her much-anticipated doubles partnership with tennis icon Serena Williams, aged 44.
This week marked Williams’ return to competitive tennis after a nearly four-year hiatus, where she teamed up with Mboko to secure a 7-6 (2), 6-2 victory over Erin Routliffe of New Zealand and Nicole Melichar-Martinez from the United States.
Unfortunately, the 19-year-old Mboko announced on Friday that she would be sidelined for the remainder of the grass-court season, including Wimbledon, due to a knee injury.
As she stands ranked 23rd in women’s singles, Fernandez now has the opportunity to clinch her first WTA doubles title with a win on Sunday.
