Canada’s Leylah Fernandez exits D.C. Open with second-round loss to Eala
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
WASHINGTON – Leylah Fernandez’s D.C. Open title defence is over.
The 23-year-old from Laval, Que., lost 6-2, 7-6 (1) to Alexandra Eala of the Philippines in the second round Wednesday after winning last year’s WTA 500 tournament.
Eala converted four of nine break points and won 63.3 per cent of the points on Fernandez’s second serve to take the match in one hour 53 minutes.
“I know that she was playing a little better, and maybe my level dropped a little bit,” Eala said of her second-set comeback. “Those are very tricky moments, when you know your level has dropped and you want to do better, but things for one reason or another just aren’t coming out.
“I think patience was key there, just trying to work it out, and a strong mentality in terms of trying to find solutions.”
The seventh-seeded Fernandez fell to 13-20 in singles action this season.
She and partner Anna Danilina of Kazakhstan also exited the women’s doubles tournament Tuesday with a first-round loss to China’s Tang Qianhui and Xu Yifan.
The world No. 34 moves on to the National Bank Open in Toronto, with singles main-draw play beginning Sunday.
Fernandez and her sister, Bianca, also received a wild card for the women’s doubles tournament at Sobeys Stadium.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 29, 2026.