After reaching the quarter-finals in Abu Dhabi last week, Leylah Annie Fernandez is through to round two at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open in Doha, the first WTA 1000 tournament of the 2025 season.
On Sunday, the Canadian made quick work of Belgian qualifier Greet Minnen 6-1, 6-2. Fernandez was perfect playing break points in the match, both on serve and when returning. She saved the five break points she faced while serving and converted the five break points she earned thanks to a strong return game.
In the second round, Fernandez will face eighth-seeded American Emma Navarro who benefited from an opening round bye. Fernandez has won two of the three previous matches between the two players including their last meeting two years ago in Guadalajara. In 2024, the 22-year-old from Laval reached the Doha quarter-finals thanks to three impressive victories over Liudmila Samsonova, Paula Badosa, and Qinwen Zheng.
Meanwhile, Australian Open semi-finalists Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe are the top seeds in doubles and await the winner of the match pitting Americans Ashlyn Krueger and Jessica Pegula against Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider in round two.
More Canadians in Action
Gabriel Diallo returns to the ATP Tour this week after representing Canada in Davis Cup at the Delray Beach Open in Florida. He’ll take on Arthur Rinderknech of France in his first match at the ATP 250 event. Alexis Galarneau is on the ATP Challenger Tour in Bahrain.
READ: Pospisil Passes the Davis Cup Torch in Montreal
For her part, Marina Stakusic will play the WTA 125 Cancun Tennis Open in Mexico and Stacey Fung is in the draw at the ITF Women’s World Tour tournament in Birmingham, United Kingdom.
In Case You Missed It: Denis’ Magical Performance in Dallas
It was a week to remember for Denis Shapovalov at the Dallas Open in Texas as the 25-year-old the second ATP 500 final of his career after dispatching of two Top 10 players, Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul, as well as Miomir Kecmanovic and Tomas Mahac.
In the final, the Canadian secured his third Top 10 victory of the week, defeating world no. 5 Casper Ruud 7-6(5), 6-3 to capture the biggest title of his career in remarkable fashion. It’s his third ATP singles trophy having previously won a pair of ATP 250 tournaments in Belgrade (2024) and Stockholm (2019). It was also his first triumph over the Norwegian in three tries. This result has propelled Shapovalov to no. 32 on the ATP rankings, his highest ranking since September 2023.
It’s the third ATP singles title won by a Canadian since January, adding to Félix Auger-Aliassime’s wins in Adelaide and Montpellier.
Under the Radar
In addition to Shapovalov’s run in Dallas, Rebecca Marino also reached the semi-finals of the WTA 125 tournament in Mumbai. Plus, Juan Carlos Aguilar took home the doubles title at the M15 ITF event in Sunrise, Florida alongside Taha Baadi. The third-seeded pair defeated the American duo of Keshav Chopra and Andres Martin 7-5, 4-6, 10-4 in the championship match. It’s Aguilar’s third doubles crown of the season and 16th of his career on the ITF Men’s World Tennis Tour.
You can follow the Canadians in action every week here.
