Leylah Fernandez of Canada plays a backhand return to Coco Gauff of the United States during a women's singles match of the China Open tennis tournament, at the National Tennis Center, in Beijing, China, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

By The Canadian Press

Canadians Fernandez, Mboko to meet in semifinals of Hong Kong Open

Oct 31, 2025 | 8:41 AM

HONG KONG — Canadians Leylah Fernandez and Victoria Mboko are set to clash in the semifinals of the Hong Kong Open tennis tournament after cruising to quarterfinal wins on Friday.

Fernandez, the second seed in Hong Kong, advanced with a 6-4, 6-4 win over seventh-seed Sorana Cirstea of Romania.

Mboko, seeded third, advanced when sixth-seeded Russian Anna Kalinskaya retired while trailing 6-1, 3-1.

Fernandez saved four of five break points while breaking Cirstea on three of nine chances in her second win over the Romanian veteran this month.

The 23-year-old from Laval, Que., defeated Cirstea in the semifinals of the Japan Women’s Open en route to claiming the fifth title of the career.

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The 19-year-old Mboko, from Toronto, was dominating her quarterfinal before Kalinskaya retired after 48 minutes. She had nine aces and did not suffer a break while claiming 61.8 per cent of total points.

Mboko appears to be back in form after a slumped that followed her first WTA title at the National Bank Open in Montreal. She had lost four matches in a row after her breakout win before reaching the quarterfinals of the Pan Pacific Open last week in Tokyo.

It will be the first meeting between the Fernandez and Mboko.

Fifth-seeded Maya Joint of Australia was set to face Spain’s Cristina Bucsa in the other semifinal of the WTA 250 event.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2025.

The Canadian Press