Leylah Fernandez of Canada reacts after scoring a point against 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.)
Canada’s Leylah Fernandez begins title defence with first-round win at D.C. Open
Jul 27, 2026 | 9:50 AM
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WASHINGTON — Canada’s Leylah Fernandez opened her title defence with a first-round victory at the D.C. Open on Monday.
Fernandez, the tournament’s seventh seed, downed Poland’s Magda Linette 6-1, 6-4, winning the match in one hour 19 minutes.
The 23-year-old from Laval, Que., captured the title at the WTA 500 hard-court event last year for the biggest tournament win of her career.
“There’s definitely some nerves, a little bit of pressure, because you’re a defending champ,” she said after defeating Linette. “You can’t really escape that word ‘defending champ’ because it’s kind of everywhere. You see your name in the stadium beside (2025 ATP winner) Alex de Minaur, so it’s like you can’t escape it.”
