Filipino-Canadian Leylah Fernandez reaches Wuhan Open round of 16

ASM, Philippine Canadian Inquirer
October 15, 2026

Photo courtesy: Reuters

WUHAN, China – Leylah Fernandez continued her strong run in China after defeating home favorite Han Shi, 6-3, 6-4, to advance to the round of 16 of the 2026 Wuhan Open.

The 24-year-old Canadian, ranked No. 25 in the world entering the tournament, needed one hour and 36 minutes to close out the second-round match on Wednesday. 

Fernandez took control of the opening set with a late service break before serving it out at 6-3.

The second set proved more difficult. Shi raced to a 3-0 lead and later held a 4-1 advantage, but Fernandez responded by winning the final five games to complete the straight-sets victory. 

Fernandez converted three of four break-point opportunities while saving seven of the eight break points she faced. Shi, ranked No. 217, committed 23 unforced errors compared with Fernandez’s 13. 

Shi had entered the match on the back of a major upset, beating world No. 19 Alex Eala 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the opening round after coming through qualifying. The victory over Eala was the Chinese player’s first career win over a Top 20 opponent. 

Fernandez, meanwhile, opened her Wuhan campaign with a three-set win over Ekaterina Alexandrova, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. 

Her next challenge will be Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, ranked No. 34, in the round of 16. Ostapenko advanced after upsetting Jessica Pegula in three sets. The two have met once before, with Ostapenko winning their first-round match at Wimbledon in 2021.

The Wuhan Open is a WTA 1000 hard-court tournament running from October 12 to 18.