The world No. 23 secured her third championship appearance of 2026 by delivering nine aces and overcoming multiple early deficits. Her victory extends an impressive run of form across the Asian swing that already features a tournament title in Singapore and a runner-up finish in Ningbo. She now heads into Sunday's WTA 500 title match with an opportunity to claim her seventh career tour crown. Fernandez advanced to the penultimate round earlier in Tokyo after world No. 1 Elena Rybakina was forced to withdraw due to a neck injury.
Key points
The Canadian has advanced to her third WTA Tour final of the 2026 competitive season.: The Canadian has advanced to her third WTA Tour final of the 2026 competitive season.
Leylah Fernandez will compete on Sunday against either Diana Shnaider or Mia Pohankova fo…: Leylah Fernandez will compete on Sunday against either Diana Shnaider or Mia Pohankova for her seventh career title.
The victory builds on recent success across Asia following a title in Singapore and a run…: The victory builds on recent success across Asia following a title in Singapore and a runner-up result in Ningbo.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
Fernandez fought back from a break down in both sets to reach the Tokyo title clash, her third final of 2026.
Canada’s Leylah Fernandez reached the Tokyo final with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova on Saturday, continuing her hot streak on the Asian swing.
The World No 23 won her first title of the season in Singapore last month and followed that up by reaching the final of last week’s Ningbo Open in China, where she lost to World No 1 Elena Rybakina.
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Fernandez will face either Russia’s Diana Shnaider or Slovakia’s Mia Pohankova in the final of the WTA 500 Pan Pacific Open on Sunday,…
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